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The 

Book  of  Wrinkles 


A  COLLECTION  OF  HANDY, 
LABOR-SAVING  DEVICES  AND 
IDEAS  FOR  THE  USE  OF 
MILLERS  AND  MILLWRIGHTS 


-afo^ 


FIFTH  EDITION 


COMPILED  FROM  THE  "AMERICAN  MILLER"  BY 

MITCHELL  BROTHERS  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

Chicago,  Illinois 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CAUFORNU 

LIBRARY 

COLLEGE,  OF  AQRICULTUilB 
DAVIS 


Copyright  1912  by 

Mitchell  Brothers  Publishing  Company. 

Republication,  in  whole  or  in  part, 

without  permission,   is  prohibited. 


FOREWORD 

'This  *'Book  of  Wrinkles''  is  published  in  response  to 
frequent  requests  from  millers  to  embody  in  permanent  form 
some  of  the  useful  hints  and  expedients  that  have  appeared" 
in  the  ^^ American  Miller"  during  the  past  score  of  years. 
Since  several  thousand  such  '* Wrinkles" — as  they  are  fa- 
miliarly known  to  millers — have  been  published,  it  may  be 
surmised  that  it  was  not  easy  to  make  a  choice  from  such  an 
embarrassment  of  riches.  It  was  necessary  to  place  a  limit 
on  the  number  to  be  printed;  and  therefore  it  was  deemed 
wise  to  give  preference  to  those  which  were  simple,  easily 
comprehended  through  means  of  a  rough  illustration,  and 
such  as  were  considered  most  practical  to  the  miller. 

In  consequence,  many  of  the  best  things  published  in  the 
*^ American  Miller"  are  omitted  as  they  were,  in  some  cases, 
too  complicated  for  ready  comprehension,  or  demanded  ma- 
chine shop  equipment  and  tools  not  available  in  all  cases.  So, 
too,  where  an  idea  has  risen  to  the  dignity  of  a  machine,  it 
has  been  thought  best  to  exclude  it  from  this  collection,  as 
machine  construction  is  a  talent  that  few  possess.  An  ^excep- 
tion  has  been  made  in  only  one  or  two  cases. 

The  original  purpose  was  to  give  credit  for  each  individual 
idea  reproduced  here;  but  this  was  found  not  to  be  feasible. 
Some  were  contributed  anonymously,  years  ago,  and  the  actual 
authorship  cannot  be  ascertained ;  some  are  old  and  common, 
and  the  credit  for  the  origin  of  many  is  disputed.  It  seemed 
hopeless  to  adjust  the  equities  in  all  cases ;  and  for  the  sake 
of  uniformity  it  was  thought  wiser  to  publish  them  all  without 
identification  marks,  especially  as  all  were  credited  when 
originally  printed.  It  will  suffice  to  say  that  the  publishers 
make  no  claim  for  themselves,  aside  from  assembling  the 
various  ideas.  The  book  is  the  product  of  the  ingenious 
minds  of  the  readers  of  the  ** American  Miller,"  its  associate 
editors,  so  to  speak,  and  to  them  the  credit  is  due. 


66597 


CONTENTS 

Chapter  I.    Bins,  Hoppers  and  Sinks 1 

Wheat  Tempering  Bin — Bin  for  Retail  Stock — Cage  or  Basket  Screen — 
Wheat  Sink  Attachment — Feed  or  Bran  Hopper — Overflow  Spout  for 
Hopper — Indicator  for  Wheat  Bins — Bin  for  Drying  Grain  and  Destroy- 
ing Insects — Looking  Glasses  for  Bins — Screen  for  Wheat  Hopper. 

Chapter  II.    Spouts  and  Spouting 12 

Switchboard  for  the  Mill — A  Plow-Edged  Slide — Valve  for  Wheat 
Spout — Spouting  Wheat  to  Conveyor — Spout  Wiper — Brush  for  Ridding 
Spout  of  Moths — Safety  Slide— Clamp  for  Spouts — Substitute  for 
Switch — Cover  for  Hand-Hole  in  Spouts — Bran  Spout — Packing  for 
Six)ut  Slides — Home-Made  Clamp  for  Hand-Hole. 

Chapter  III.    Chokes  22 

Feeding  in  Chokes — Fixing  a  Choking  Middlings  Spout — Choke  Pre- 
venter for  Cyclone  Dust  Collector — Preventing  Chokes — To  Prevent 
Flour  Bins  Choking — Choke  Detecting  Spout — Handy  Spout  Rapper.- 

Chapter  IV.    Belts,  Pulleys  and  Shafting 21 

Clamp  for  Holding  Glued  Belts — Shaft  Hanger  for  Light  Duty — A  Belt 
Tightener  Kink — Cleaning  Shafting — Inexpensive  Belt  Guards — Sug- 
gestion for  Gluing  Belts — Simple  Speed  Indicator — Keeping  Belts 
Clean — Home-Made  Belt  Scraper — Increasing  Diameter  of  Pulleys. 

Chapter  V.    Safety  Appliances  and  Devices ^ 34 

First  Aid  to  Injured  Employes — Danger  Signal  for  Passenger  Ele- 
vator— Sleeve  for  Those  About  Machinery — Belt  Mitten — Set  Screw 
Guard — Tin  Pans  as  Set'  Screw  Protectors — Covering  Dangerous  Set 
Screws  and  Couplings — Mill  Ladder — Safety  Water  Barre]  for  Fire. 


VI  THE      BOOK     OF    WRINKLES 

Chapter  VI.    Elevating  and  Conveying 41 

Non-Abrasive  Conveyor — Improving  Wheat  Dampening  Conveyor — 
Chain  Conveyor — Keeping  Elevator  Legs  Clean — Removing  Hot.  Air 
from  Elevators — To  Tighten  Elevator  Belts — Clever  Way  of  Making 
Conveyor  Box — Handy  Elevator  Belt  Tightener. 

Chapter  VH.     Signals  and  Indicators 47 

Alarm  for  Mill  Door — Alarm  for  Elevator  Legs — Signal  for  Mill,  Office 
and  Residence — Feed  Alarm — Hopper  Alarm — Call  Bell  System  for 
Mills — Electric  Spout  Alarm — Alarm  for  Grain  Bins — Speaking  Tube  for 
Mills — Elevator  Signal. 

Chapter  VIII.     Separation  Auxiliaries  56 

Dust  and  Screenings  Settling  Chamber — Separating  Wheat  and  Corn — 
Screenings  Separator — Cleaning  Spout — Straw  Separator — Improved  Air 
Trunk  from  Cleaners — Rubbish  Separator — Putting  Suction  on  Wheat — 
Wild  Mustard  Seed  Separator.  ^ 

Chapter  IX.    Roll  Appliances 63 

Addition  to  the  Tramplate — Tram  Wheel  for  Running  Rolls — Self- 
Adjusting  End  Piece  for  Smooth  Rolls — Preventing  Waste  at  Roll 
Ends — Feeding  on  the  Fast  Roll — Tramming  Attachment — Roll  Scraper- 
Device  for  Lifting  Rolls — Improvised  Roll  Cleaner — Roll  Remover — 
Good  Substitute  for  Roll  Scraper. 

Chapter  X.     Sifters 72 

Dough  Balls  in  Sifters — Keeping  Sieve  Spouts  Clear — Sifter  Improve- 
ment— Tin  Stub  Spouts — Feeder  for  a  Swing  Sifter — Trouble  with  Flat 
Spout — Setting  Up  the  Sifter. 

Chapter  XI.    Feeding 77 

Feed  Regulator  for  Scourers — A  Portable  Feeder — Feed  Roll  for  Small 
Grain — Feeder  for  Even  Spreading — Feeding  Wheat  to  first  Break, 


THE      BOOK     OF     WRINKLES  VU 

Chapter  XII.     Sacks 82 

String  Measurer — To  Hold  Sacks  While  Sewing — File  for  Second  Hand 
Paper  Sacks — Bag  Holder  for  Spouts — Sack  Holder — Millers*  Handy 
Knife — Handy  Sack  Knife — Sack  Press — Tying  the  Sacks — Spool  and 
Twine  for  Tying  Sacks — Handy  Bag  Turner — Combination  Sack  Needle 
and  Twine  Cutter. 

Chapter  XIII.     Filling  and  Packing 90 

Sacking  Spout— Bran  Packer  Alarm — Attachment  for  Packer  Tube — 
Improved  Method  of  Keeping  Tally — Flour  Packer  Attachment — Sack 
Rammer — Convenient  Spout  for  Sacking  Meal — Special  Slide  for  Rapid 
Sacking. 

Chapter  XIV.    Trucks  and  Scales 98 

Four  Wheeled  Hand  Truck — To  Insure  Correct  Mill  Weights — Re- 
numbering Scales — Improvement  on  Mill  Scale — Attachment  for  Bag 
Truck. 

Chapter  XV.     Sampling  and  Testing 102 

Flour  Sampler — Flour  Sample  Cupboard — Flour  Trier  and  Mold — 
Gluten  Washer — Testing  Dish. 

Chapter  XVI.    Water  Power 107 

Water  Alarm  and  Indicator — Keeping  Ice  from  Wheel  Shafts — Protect- 
ing Dams  in  Winter — Driving  Spikes  Under  Water — Device  for  Work 
on  Dams — Cleaning  Mud  Out  of  Mill  Race — Alarm  for  Mill  Dam — 

Securing  Dam  Timbers. 

Chapter  XVII.     Mill  Tools  and  Appliances 114 

Tool  for  Sprocket  Wheels — Substitute  for  Pipe  Wrench — Useful  Home- 
Made  Flour  Slick — An  Ail-Around  Tool — Bolting  Cloth  Pinchers — 
Combination  Tool  for  Millers — Portable  Tool  Box — Broom  Wrinkle — 
Two  Good  Scrapers — Wheat  Screen  Cleaner— To  Start  Stubborn  Hand 
Wheel — Combination  Bevel  and  Pitch  Finder — Sack  Twine  Cutter — 
Screw  Driver — Useful  Wrench — Mill  Brush — Extension  Broom — "Grab- 
Hooks''  for  Dough  Balls, 


Vlll  THE  BOOK  OF  WRINKLES 

» 

Chapter  XVIII.    Miscellaneous 124 

Oil  Can  Wrinkle— Feed  Saver — Useful  Mill  Pail — Disposing  of  Sweep- 
ings—Automatic Meal  Mixer— Hoe  for  Meal— Small  Measure  for 
Grain — Sieve  for  Chokes — Scalper  for  Corn  Meal — Scoop  for  Mill  Use — 
Globe  for  First  Break— Home-Made  Sieve— Price  Indicator  and  Com- 
puter— Taking  Up  Slack  in  Sprocket  Chains — Advantages  of  System- 
atic Piling — Wetting  Wheat  Without  Reservoir— Damper  Regulator. 


THE  CONTENTS  OF  THIS  BOOK  AND  ITS  ILLUSTRATIONS 
ARE  COPYRIGHTED,  AND  THE  REPRINTING,  IN  WHOLE  OR  IN 
PART,  WITHOUT  PERMISSION,  IS  PROHIBITED, 


CHAPTER  I 

BINS,  HOPPERS  AND  SINKS 


WHEAT  TEMPERING  BIN 

The  accompanying  drawing  represents  a  wheat-tempering  bin, 
which  can  be  made  to  suit  requirements,  either  small  or  large,  depend- 
ing upon  how  long  the  miller  wishes  to  let  the  wheat  lie  after  wetting. 
The  originator  of  the  plan  allowed  the  wheat  to  lie  three  hours. 


A  common  wheat  bin  can  be  used,  say  6x6x12  for  a  2(X)-barrel 
mill.  A  is  an  inverted  hopper,  so  placed  over  hopper  B  as  to  allow 
the  wheat  to*pass  around  its  outside  edges  into  hopper  B.  D  D  are 
supports  for  hopper  A  to  rest  upon.  C  is  a  partition  extending  to  the 
top  of  hopper  A  between  the  inverted  hoppers.     E  E   are  glasses 


THE    BOOK    OF,  WRINKLES 


through  which  the  wheat  can  be  seen.  F  F  are  the  feeds  to  the  bin, 
divided  into  two  streams  for  the  inverted  hoppers.  G  is  a  valve  to 
spout  the  stream  to  either  feed.  /  /  are  the  discharge  spouts  from 
the  two  hoppers.  H  H  are  glasses  for  ascertaining  if  the  wheat  is 
being  drawn  from  each  side  alike.  /  is  the  spout  leading  to  the 
cleaners  or  elevator. 

This  method  permits  of  the  same  stream  of  wheat  moving  all  day. 
There  is  nothing  to  change  and  the  apparatus  attends  to  itself.  The 
wheat  will  be  continually  drawn  from  the  bottom  instead  of  the  middle 
of  the  bin,  and  the  wheat  will  be  used  first  which  is  put  in  the  bin  first. 


BIN  FOR  RETAIL  STOCK 

The  bin  shown  herewith  is  self-explanatory.  Built  against  any 
slanting  place  in  the  mill,  with  slides  in  the  front  as  indicated,  it  will 
be  found  very  useful,  and  any  granular  stocks  such  as  hominy,  grits, 


pearl  meal,  etc.,  can  be  stored  in  it.    Such  a  bin  is  particularly  adapted 
for  any  stock  which  is  sold  in  small  quantities,  such  as  poultry  feed. 


CAGE  OR  BASKET  SCREEN 

The  accompanying  sketch  or  drawing  shows  the  method  of  making 
and  hanging  a  screen  in  the  form  of  a  cage  or  basket  in  an  opening  in 
the  floor  above  dumps  or  bins  into  which  grain  is  poured.  The  basket 
screen  presents  five  times  the  surface  of  the  ordinary  floor  screen, 
can  be  lifted  out  and  turned  over  and  trash  emptied  or  shaken  out. 

Fig.  1  shows  the  cage  in  place;  Fig.  2  shows  a  view  of  the  cage 


THE   BOOK   OF   WRINKLES  3 

and  basket  and  how  to  construct  it,  but  differs  from  Figure  1  in 
that  there  is  no  frame  at  the  bottom,  the  wires  being  fastened  at  or 
in  top  frame,  passing  down,  bent  so  as  to  form  the  bottom,  and  then 
passing  up  and  fastened  in  top  frame  on  other  side.    This  shows  only 


F/oan 


Cleat 


C/eat  -4 


Jofst 


>r -Joist 


Cocjg^e 


n-jgj 


F-/3.2 

single  wires,  that  is,  running  one  way  or  vertically.     The  basket  in 
Fig.  1  shows  wires  crossed  or  meshed,  which  is  better. 

The  wires  can  be  placed  close  or  wide  apart  according  to  the  grain 
it  is  intended  to  screen ;  a  half  or  three-quarter-inch  mesh  for  grain 
such  as  wheat  and  rye,  and  one  to  one  and  a  quarter-inch  for  corn. 
That  will  prevent  corn  cobs,  husks,  etc.,  from  passing  through  and 


4  THE    BOOK   OF    WRINKLES 

worrying  the  life  out  of  the  operator  by  shutting  off  the  flow  from 
bin  by  closing  the  opening  gauged  by  the  slide. 

The  drawings  are  self-explanatory.  The  top  frame  of  the  cage 
is  supported  by  cleats  nailed  or  screwed  to  joists,  and  less  in  width 
(say  half -inch)  than  the  frame  pieces,  so  as  to  permit  the  cage  to 
be  lifted  out.  The  top  of  the  frame  can  be  level  with  the  top  of  the 
joist  as  shown,  so  that  a  lid  may  cover  hole  if  necessary.  There  should 
be  about  two  inches  space  between  the  sides  of  the  cage  and  the  joists 
on  each  side. 


WHEAT  SINK  ATTACHMENT 

The  cut  shows  a  little  roll  which  is  placed  at  the  bottom  of  the 
wheat  sink.     It  is  provided  with  nails  and  a  little  belt  attached.     It 


PADDUE 


STRAW  PULLER 


revolves  just  outside  of  gate  and  pulls  out  all  straws,  cobs,  etc. 
may  be  in  the  wheat,  and  makes  an  even  flow. 


that 


FEED  OR  BRAN  HOPPER 

The  sketch  shows  an  improved  form  of  feed  or  bran  hopper  which 
may  be  found  handier  than  some  in  ordinary  use. 

The  hopper,  M,  is  of  the  ordinary  type.  The  sides  should  not 
be  flatter  than  50  degrees.  The  opening  at  yoke  D  is  12  inches 
square,  inside  measurement.  The  sacking  spout  A  is  also  12  inches, 
inside  measurement,  and  12  inches  from  O  to  P.    The  bottom  board, 


THE   BOOK   OF    WRINKLES 


iV,  should  not  be  flatter  than  50  degrees ;  when  B  is  raised  up  until  the 
bottom  end  is  even  with  the  lower  end  of  face  board  of  spout,  the 
opening  is  12  inches. 

A  half -inch  hole  is  bored  in  the  choke-up  pole  E  and  cord  K  is 


passed  through  the  hole  and  knotted.  The  other  end  of  cord  is  run 
up  through  the  top  of  bin  and  should  be  tied  where  it  can  be  got  at  to 
shorten  when  cord  stretches  so  as  to  let  the  pole  down  too  low.  A 
common  fork  handle  makes  the  best  pole. 


b  THE   BOOK   OF   WRINKLES 

When  the  bran  or  feed  chokes  in  the  hopper,  sHde  B  is  pulled 
clear  up,  the  hand  is  passed  in  at  C,  to  get  hold  of  the  choke-up  pole, 
which  can  be  made  to  describe  a  circle  from  G  to  F.  This  will  keep 
the  bran  or  feed  flowing  without  striking  the  sides  of  the  hopper  with 
the  hand  ax  or  hammer,  or  running  upstairs  and  poking  the  bran  down 
from  above.  The  back  of  sack  is  held  by  a  cleat,  H,  and  the  front  is 
held  in  the  hand. 


OVERFLOW  SPOUT  FOR  HOPPER 

Sometimes  conditions  do  not  permit  the  building  of  a  large  grain 
hopper  over  the  feed  grinders,  and  in  consequence  the  hopper  may 
at  times  get  full  and  choke  up  the  elevator.     In  the  accompanying 


sketch  A  illustrates  an  overflow  spout  from  a  point  near  the  top  of 
the  hopper  above  the  grinder  back  to  the  first  hopper  where  the  grain  is 
dumped  in.  Thus  the  second  hopper  will  never  get  full  and  choke 
the  elevator. 


INDICATOR  FOR  WHEAT  BINS 

The  illustration  shows  an  indicator  for  wheat  bins  and  hoppers. 
A  is  the  stock  bin.    5  is  a  piece  of  wood,  4x4x4  inches.     C  is  a  small 


THE   BOOK   OF   WRINKLES 


rope  running  over  pulleys,  as  shown,  to  indicator  board  D,  located  on 
the  first  floor  of  mill. 

To  ascertain  the  amount  of  wheat  in  bin,  unfasten  rope  from  fast- 


W^ 


I 


ening  E  and  let  block  B  down  until  it  rests  on  wheat,  when  the  position 
of  rope  on  indicator  will  show  the  number  of  feet  of  wheat  in  bin.  This 
wrinkle  is  a  labor-saving  device  that  will  save  many  tedious  trips  up 

stairs. 


8 


THE   BOOK   OF    WRINKLES 


BIN   FOR  DRYING  GRAIN   AND   DESTROYING  INSECTS 

The  purpose  of  the  bin  shown  in  the  illustrations  is  to  dry  wheat, 
corn  or  other  grain  and  destroy  weevil  or' any  other  insects  that  might 
be  brought  to  the  mill  by  the  farmer. 

The  grain  can  be  left  in  the  bin  and  the  air  drawn  through  until 
it  is  dry  enough  to  store;  or  the  bin  itself  can  be  used  as  a  storage 

SIVE     VIEW 


rAN  DiscHAJreer 


cn/iiN 


noon. 


I 


FERrORATED     / 

7TT~ 


Xi^'b 


JO/ST  f        ^ 


bin  if  there  are  no  other  bins  for  that  purpose.  The  bin  ought  to  be 
as  tight  as  possible  at  the  top,  so  that  the  fan  will  draw  the  air  through 
from  the  bottom. 

At  the  bottom,  the  floor  is  taken  out  and  2x3  scantlings  laid  on  the 
joists.  Perforated  sheet  iron  is  placed  on  these,  so  as  to  allow  the  air 
to  be  drawn  up  through  the  grain.  The  2x3 's  must  be  placed  close 
enough  so  that  the  sheet  iron  will  not  bend;  say  about  four  inches 
apart.  The  sheet  iron  should  be  laid  with  the  rough  or  ''gratey"  side 
up,  so  that  the  grain  will  not  lie  so  close  to  the  bottom.     This  will 


THE   BOOK   OF    WRINKLES  9 

allow  the  suction  of  the  fan  at  the  top  of  the  bin  to  draw  the  air  and 
fumigating  gas  fumes  through  the  grain. 

It  is  only  necessary  to  run  the  fan  two  or  three  hours  every  day ; 


and  a  bin  with  a  capacity  of  500  bushels  will  need  only  an  18-inch  fan. 
That  will  not  use  as  much  power  as  it  would  take  to  run  the  grain 
over  every  day  for  a  month. 


LOOKING-GLASSES  FOR  BINS 

In  the  illustration  No.  1  is  the  stock  hopper,  No.  2  and  No.  3 
are  looking-glasses,  No.  4  is  the  tube  extending  to  lower  floor,  No. 
5  is  the  observation  opening,  No.  6  is  an  opening  for  natural  or  arti- 
ficial light.  The  glasses  should  be  set  at  an  angle  of  45  degrees ;  the 
tube  should  be  made  light-proof  by  tight  joints  and  by  being  painted 
black  on  the  inside. 


10 


THE   BOOK   OF   WRINKLES 


By  looking  in  at  the  opening  at  the  bottom  of  the  tube  the  inte- 
rior of  the  bin  can  be  seen  as  plainly  as  though  you  were  looking  in 


NO.  I 


HO.  2 


i  '  ^ 


A/O.S 


-NO. 


■n 


1    I    r: 


-¥■ 


NO. 3 


at  the  top  of  it,  and  it  makes  no  difference  whether  the  bin  is  one  floor 
or  ten  floors  above. 


SCREEN  FOR  WHEAT  HOPPER 

The  accompanying  sketch  represents  a  wheat  hopper  for  receiv- 
ing grain  from  farmers'  wagons,  and  A  represents  a  screen  to  catch 


THE    BOOK   OF    WRINKLES 


11 


straw  plugs,  sticks  and  such  stuff,  which  is  Hkely  to  become  very 
troublesome  if  it  gets  into  elevators  or  wheat  separator  spouts. 

The  outlets  at  the  bottom  of  wheat  hoppers  are  generally  too 
small  to  permit  screens,  as  they  would  not  let  the  wheat  down  fast 
enough.     Hence  it  is  practical  to  put  the  screen  further  up,  as  in  the 


sketch.  A  good  screen  can  be  made  out  of  34  or  ^-inch  irons,  fifteen 
to  eighteen  inches  long,  the  ends  turned  down  and  pointed  to  fasten 
them.  The  irons  can  be  put  in  both  ways  across  the  hopper,  spaced  an 
inch  to  an  inch  and  a  quarter  apart. 


CHAPTER  II 

SPOUTS  AND  SPOUTING 


SWITCHBOARD  FOR  THE  MILL 

The  sketch  herewith  shows  a  Httle  apparatus  which  might  be  called 
a  switchboard  by  which  ropes  may  be  attached  to  valves  in  spouts  and 
slides  in  conveyors  to  change  the  flow  of  different  stocks  without  run- 
ning all  over  the  mill  to  do  so,  and  which,  when  once  changed,  holds 
the  valve  or  slide  securely  in  the  desired  position. 

First  take  a  12-inch  planed  board  and  cut  long  enough  to  leave 


J%.A 


a- 


A3CDe:rGHlJ 


6M 


J45 


^v 


O  O  A  c 

LilAA/UUUUUUUUl 

about  a  2-inch  space  for  each  rope  to  be  used.  This  forms  the  back 
(Fig.  2 — c).  Now  take  a  strip  of  same  material,  3  inches  wide,  and 
the  same  length* as  c,  and  secure  it  about  two  inches  from  the  top  of  c, 
first  boring  a  ^-inch  hole  at  each  space  A,  B,  C,  etc.  Next  take  a  very 
heavy  piece  of  galvanized  sheet  iron  and  cut  a  piece  of  the  same  shape 
as  Fig.  3,  cutting  the  notches  1,  2,  3,  etc.,  which  hold  the  knots  on  ends 
of  the  ropes,  to  correspond  with  the  holes  in  a,  and  secure  it  to  the 
back  at  h. 

The  board  may  now  be  fastened  up  in  a  convenient  place.     In  a 
feed  mill  this  would  preferably  be  near  die  grinding  apparatus  so  that 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES  13 

the  flow  may  be  changed  quickly  while  running  in  a  different  class 
of  work. 

Turning  to  Fig.  1,  a  piece  of  paper  is  now  fastened  behind  the 
ropes  to  c,  between  a  and  b.  On  this  a  space  is  marked  for  each  rope 
hole,  and  in  the  space  is  marked  the  stock  in  the  bin  into  which  the 
rope  on  this  space  would  throw  the  stock.  Each  space  is  then  lettered 
at  the  top,  A,  B,  C,  etc.  As  two  ropes  are  necessarily  fastened  to  each 
valve,  it  must  be  known  which  one  to  release.  Therefore,  if  you  wish 
to  pull  the  rope  A,  leading  to  barley  bin,  release  rope  B  as  indicated 
by  the  letter  at  the  bottom  of  space  A,  and  vice  versa. 


A  PLOW-EDGED  SLIDE 

The  illustration  shows  a  method  of  cutting  the  slide  in  the  sack 
spout.     The  purpose  of  the  knife  edges  on  the  bottom  of  the  spout 


slide  is  to  plow  out  the  grooves  which  often  become  so  filled  with 
bran,  etc.,  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  close  the  slide.  When  the 
slide  is  closed  the  edges  plow  out  the  grooves  which  prevents  it  from 
sticking. 


VALVE  FOR  WHEAT  SPOUT 
The  accompanying  sketch  illustrates  a  valve  or  ^ate  for  a  wheat 
spout  that  will  not  choke  or  clog  with  straw  or  other  small  trash  in  the 
wheat,  as  the  ordinary  square  board  or  sheet-iron  gate  will  do.  It  is 
to  be  placed  in  the  spout  that  carries  the  wheat  from  the  storage  bins 
to  the  milling  separator. 

Fig.  1  is  a  side  view  of  spout,  with  filler  cut  away  showing  tongue 
and  eccentric  for  raising  or  lowering  tongue  to  regulate  the  amount  of 
feed  to  the  separator.  Fig.  2  is  the  top  of  the  spout  with  the  cap  off, 
showing  t^'o  extra  seven-eighths-inch  fillers,  one  on  each  side  of  the 
inside  of  spout.  The  spout  is  6>^  inches  wide  and  with  the  extra 
seven-eighths-inch  fillers  leaves  three  inches  in  the  clear,  from  A  to  A, 
for  the  tongue,  Fig.  4.    Fig.  3  is  the  cap  for  the  3xl6-inch  opening  in 


14 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


the  spout.  Fig.  4  is  the  tongue,  which  is  fastened  to  the  cap  with  a 
small  hinge  at  B.  This  tongue  is  2f|xl5  inches.  Fig.  5  is  the 
eccentric  C  (Fig.  1)  to  be  placed  on  the  inside  of  the  spout,  on  the 
filler,  with  small  bolt  about  three  inches  from  end  of  tongue.  The 
eccentric  should  be  about  six  inches  long,  with  a  V/i-'moh  head. 

The  principle  of  the  device  is  for  the  tongue  and  bottom  of  the 
spout  to  form  a  funnel  and  allow  the  trash  and  straw  to  pass  out  with 


the  wheat.  There  are  no  square  corners  for  the  foreign  matter  to 
lodge  in,  as  there  are  with  the  square  wood  or  sheet-iron  gates. 

To  shut  off  the  wheat,  close  down  the  wood  gate,  D,  Fig.  1,  with- 
out moving  the  eccentric.  When  it  is  again  desired  to  put  on  the 
feed,  pull  up  the  wood  gate,  when  you  have  the  same  feed  as  before. 

The  above  dimensions  are  for  running  a  stream  of  from  60  to  90 
bushels  of  wheat  per  hour.  If  a  larger  amount  is  wanted  leave  out 
the  extra  filler,  A-E,  Fig.  2,  and  make  the  tongue  the  full  width  of 
spout. 


SPOUTING  WHEAT  TO  CONVEYOR 

The  accompanying  sketch  shows  a  device  which  has  been  tried 
and  found  a  great  help  where  the  wheat  is  trashy.  A  plain  box  is 
made  and  fastened  onto  the  side  of  any  conveyor.    Make  a  fair-sized 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


15 


hole  in  the  conveyor  box  with  sHde,  as  shown  at  2,  over  it.  Then  tap 
the  bin  with  spout  and  put  in  sHde  1.  Leave  top  of  box  open  and 
have  it  large  enough  to  get  anything  out  that  could  get  down  the  spout.» 
When  all  is  ready,  open  slide  /  clear  out.    Then  open  slide  2  until  the 


conveyor  takes  its  load.  If  the  conveyor  stops,  the  wheat  never  runs 
in,  as  it  will  only  run  in  as  the  conveyor  takes  it  away.  This  leaves 
large  openings  so  that  cobs,  small  wads  of  hay  and  such  trash  will 
run  through.  It  is  best  to  leave  slide  2  open  and  shut  off  the  wheat 
with  slide  /. 


SPOUT  WIPER 

An  ingenious  spout  wiper  is  reproduced  herewith.  A  piece  of 
heavy  twine  of  the  proper  length  is  provided  with  a  slug  on  one  end, 
a  tap  or  anv  piece  of  heavy  metal  that  can  be  easily  attached  to  a 


BURIAP 


string.  A  sack  on  the  other  end  of  the  twine  completes  the  device 
and  makes  a  convenient  apparatus  for  cleaning  a  tin-lined  spout. 
Two  persons  can  use  it  while  the  flour  is  running. 


16 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


BRUSH  FOR  RIDDING  SPOUT  OF  MOTHS 

The  best  spouts  are  bound  to  fill  up  once  in  a  while  with  moths 
and  other  obstructions,  and  clearing  them  out  is  no  easy  task.  The 
accompanying  sketch,  which  it  is  almost  superfluous  to  explain,  illus- 
trates a  spout  brush  which  will  clean  any  sort  of  spout.     The  brush 


srour    BnusK 


TfOPC 


-.^ 


nopt 


-^#^ 


itself  should  be  made  at  a  brush  factory  to  fit  the  spouts,  and  will  cost 
but  little.  Then  by  attaching  a  rope  to  each  end,  dropping  it  in  the 
spout,  and  pulling  back  and  forth,  it  is  an  easy  matter  to  clean  out 
the  spout. 


SAFETY  SLIDE 

The  accompanying  drawings  show  in- detail  the  construction  of 
a  spout  sHde  that  is  at  once  simple,  complete  and  very  useful  where 
wheat  is  drawn  from  several  bins  at  a  time. 

By  the  use  of  this  slide  it  is  possible  to  get  a  perfect  mixture,  as 
one  can  see  by  scale  on  slide  the  exact  amount  he  is  drawing  out  of 
each  bin.  It  is  also  a  safety  device,  as  when  the  thumb-screw  is  set 
it  is  impossible  for  the  slide  to  work  out  of  place. 

It  is  made  in  two  parts,  as  shown,  of  heavy  sheet  metal,  and  two 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


17 


flanges  are  cut  in  each  side  of  the  slide  which  are  to  be  fastened  over 
the  brace  to  allow  the  slide  to  move  up  and  down. 

When  this  slide  is  in  use  see  that  the  small  copper  button  is 
turned  over  flange  so  as  to  prevent  it  from  coming  out.  If  the  spouts 
are  in  a  dark  place  put  in  the  old-style  slide,  turn  copper  button  and 
remove  slide,  taking  it  to  the  light  and  setting  it  to  suit.    For  instance, 


if  you  want  it  open  one  inch,  loosen  thumb-screw  and  pull  slide  up 
until  pointed  indicator  next  to  flange  is  at  the  one-inch  mark,  tighten 
thumb-screw,  return  to  spout  and  turn  button  over  flange,  pull  out 
old-style  slide  and  you  are  sure  of  being  right. 

If  you  are  drawing  out  of  a  spout  4  inches  square  and  feeding 
an  elevator  which  requires  the  spout  to  be  open  2  inches,  you  simply 
raise  slide  until  indicator  shows  2  inches.     If  you  wish  to  draw  out 


18 


THE    BOOK     OF    WRINKLES 


of  four  spouts  at  one  time,  raise  each  slide  >^  inch  and  you  know 
your  elevator  cups  are  just  full  without  looking. 

Corn  is  apt  to  move  the  old-style  slides,  as  it  beats  hard  against 
them.  This  one  is  safe.  This  slide  does  not  require  blocks  inside 
of  spout  to  prevent  tipping,  as  when  thumb-screw  is  set  and  button  is 
set  on  flange  it  acts  as  a  brace  and  when  grain  is  against  the  sHde  it 
cannot  tip.  The  slide  can  be  made  to  fit  any  size  or  shape  of  spout. 
Any  tinner  can  cut  out  the  pieces  in  a  short  time. 

If  the  spouts  in  the  mill  are  the  same  size  the  slides  can  be  used 
interchangeably. 


CLAMP  FOR  SPOUTS 

The   sketch    herewith   given   needs   no   explanation.      It   shows   a 
clamp  to  hold  the  tops  of  spouts  in  position  and  one  which  will  also 


permit  the  quick  removal  of  the  tops  for  cleaning  the  spout  or  for 
other  purposes.  The  sketch  shows  the  form  of  the  clamp  and  also  its 
application  to  the  spout.  The  clamps  can  be  made  of  wood  or  very 
heavy  sheet  metal.  Felt  might  be  used  with  metal  clamps  to  allow  a 
small  amount  of  "give." 


THE   BOOK   OV   WRINKLES 


19 


SUBSTITUTE  FOR  SWITCH 

In  preference  to  switches  in  spouts  a  convenient  device  can  be 
made  for  gathering  grain  from  an  elevator  head  or  machine  and 
running  it  into  any  one  of  two  or  more  bins. 


Make  a  box,  say  6  inches  wide,  10  inches  deep  and  3  feet  long, 
hoppered  to  the  center.  Make  a  place  for  it  to  slide  on,  between 
cleats,  over  the  spout  holes.  Manipulate  it  with  ropes  from  below, 
running  over  grooved  pulleys.  It  requires  but  little  space  in  height 
and  makes  a  clean  cut-off. 


COVER  FOR  HAND-HOLE  IN  SPOUT 

The  annexed  illustration  shows  a  convenient  dustproof  cover  for 
hand-holes  in  spouts.  Make  the  lid  large  enough  to  cover  opening 
well.    On  the  bottom  side  cover  with  fleece-lined  cotton,  fleece  side  out. 


Let  the  cloth  be  about  four  inches  longer  at  one  end  than  the  cover 
and  tack  it  to  the  spout  so  that  the  lid  will  fold  back  as  shown  in 
the  sketch. 


2D 


TilE   BOOK   OF    WRINKLES 


BRAN  SPOUT 

Here  is  a  sketch  of  a  bran  spout  that  will  not  choke.     Owing  to 
the  fact  that  both  mitres  and  pitch  run  the  same  way,  the  bran  will 


bear  mostly  on  the  under  side  of  the  spout,  coming  only  loosely  against 
the  upper  side  of  the  incline.  As  a  consequence  it  will  flow  freely 
without  clogging. 


PACKING  FOR  SPOUT  SLIDES 

Millers  are  frequently  troubled  with  dust  blowing  out  of  spouts 
around  the  slides  and  valves,  and  especially  when  the  material  drops 
one  or  two  stories  and  strikes  the  slide. 


This  can  be  prevented  by  taking  a  strip  of  light  rubber  packing 
about  l}i  inches  wide  and  as  long  as  the  width  of  the  inside  spout 
above  the  slide.     Pliable  rubber  packing  such  as  is  used  about  steam 

/ 


THE   nOOK   OF   WRINKLES 


21 


engines,   ^V 


to  ly  of  an  inch  thick,  without  cotton  on  the  inside, 
is  best.  Tack  this  across  the  inside  of  the  spout  with  small  tacks,  say 
iihout  4-ounce  tacks.  Let  the  lower  edge  of  the  rubber  project  down 
over  the  slide  opening  about  yi  of  an  inch,  so  that  when  the  slide  is 
put  in  place  it  will  form  a  dust-proof  joint. 


HOME-MADE  CLAMP  FOR  HAND-HOLE 

The  sketch  shows  a  design  of  a  home-made  clamp  to  close  hand- 
holes  in  tin  spouts  air-tight.    The  sketch  requires  little  or  no  explana- 


r/G.2 


tion.  Fig.  1  shows  the  opening  in  spout ;  Fig.  2,  the  clamp  open  and 
showing  the  sweat-pad;  Fig.  3  shows  the  clamp  in  position.  The 
clamp  is  made  of  light  bright  tin  riveted  on  two  light  iron  strips,  with 
one  threaded  hole  to  take  an  eighth-inch  bolt. 


CHAPTER  III 
CHOKES 


FEEDING  IN  CHOKES 

Large  mills  often  have  mixers  to  mix  in  their  chokeups,  but  the 
smaller  mills  usually  have  to  depend  on  ingenuity  to  relieve  a  choke. 
The  little  device  shown  herewith  is  one  that  has  been  found  very 
successful  in  relieving  chokes. 

The  device  slips  in  where  the  slide  goes  in  the  elevator  boot,  and 
one  such  will  generally  answer  for  the  whole  mill,  as  the  elevators  are 
usually  all  of  a  size.     Keep  one  of  these  feeders  hanging  up  in  a 


ESI.  ns2. 

handy  place  in  the  basement  and  when  there  is  a  choke-up  simply  pull 
out  the  slide  in  the  elevator,  slip  in  the  feeder  and  then  with  a  hand 
scoop  feed  in  the  stock  as  seems  best. 

The  drawings  explain  themselves.  Figure  1  shows  the  device  com- 
plete, while  Figure  2  shows  a  part  of  the  wood  cut  away  to  indicate 
liow  the  galvanized  iron  is  cut  to  fit  the  slide. 


THE   BOOK   OF   WRINKLES 


23 


FIXING  A  CHOKING  MIDDLINGS  SPOUT 

The  illustration  shows  a  means  of  remedying  a  spout  that  has  not 
enough  pitch  and  frequently  chokes  up.     A  tin  lining  is  placed  in  the 


spout,  not  flat  on  the  bottom,  but  in  a  V-shape,  with  the  lower  end 
rounded.  The  philosophy  of  this  spout  is  that  there  is  much  less 
friction  on  the  narrow  channel  of  the  tin  than  on  the  flat  bottom  of 
the  spout. 


CHOKE  PREVENTER  FOR  CYCLONE  DUST  COLLECTOR 

The  accompanying  sketch  shows  a  simple  way  to  keep  a  Cyclond 
Dust  Collector  from  choking  up. 

To  make  the  device,  take  a  piece  of  stiff  leather,  cut  out  a  round 


piece,  punch  a  small  hole  in  the  center  and  slip  it  down  on  the  stick 
about  2  inches.  Next  take  a  light  piece  of  tin  and  make  a  wind  wheel 
or  a  fan  of  it.  Place  it  on  top  of  the  stick,  but  have  the  fan  a  little 
smaller  than  the  leather  so  it  will  not  touch  the  side  of  the  Cyclone. 
Secure  the  bottom  of  stick  in  proper  position  and  it  will  go  "to  beat 
the  band." 


24 


THE    BOOK   OF   WRINKLES 


PREVENTING  CHOKES 

The  accompanying  sketch  explains  a  simple  wrinkle  for  prevent- 
ing: a  packer  hopper,  or  any  bin  or  spout,  from  choking  up  when  full. 


iSpoat 


Owepf/ocw  Spout 


\ 


leather.  Hinge  ^ 


Cra/ae- 


f/our>Fackep 


When  the  hopper  gets  full  the  stock  will  run  down  the  overflow  spout 
and  open  the  valve  which  is  ordinarily  kept  closed  by  the  weight.  The 
weight  should  be  such  that  it  will  take  but  a  few  ounces  to  open  the 
valve,  though  heavy  enough  to  force  it  closed  as  soon  as  the  pressure 
is  relieved. 


TO  PREVENT  FLOUR  BINS  CHOKING 

The  object  of  the  arrangement  illustrated  by  the  accompanying 
drawing  is  to  prevent  flour  or  other  bins  choking.  It  consists  of  an 
upright  hardwood  strip,  h,  of  suitable  size,,  say  about  l>^xl;^  inches, 
attached  to  crank  c.     Iron  bars,  a,  are  placed  equal  distances  apart. 


THE   BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


25, 


these  distances  being  about  equal  to  the  stroke  of  the  crank.  A  bar,  d, 
at  the  top  of  the  upright  strip  holds  the  latter  in  place.  In  case  the 
crank  cannot  be  turned  continuously,  it  may  be  pulled  forward  and 


back  to  start  the  choke.     The  device  will  prevent  the  flour  falling  all 
at  once   with  a   thump. 


CHOKE  DETECTING  SPOUT 

The  accompanying  sketch  represents  a  piece  of  upright  spout 
about  six  feet  long,  with  a  part  of  the  cover  two  or  three  feet  long. 
This  cover  is  loose  and  is  held  in  place  by  the  bevel  of  the  cut  at  the 
bottom  and  the  tongue  and  groove  on  the  sides  of  the  opening  and  in 
the  cover. 

Should  the  spout  become  filled  up  "from  below  this  loose  cover  will 
fall  off  and  allow  the  stock  to  run  on  the  mill  floor,  thus  preventing 
the  stock   from  backing  up   into  the  scalpers  and  sieve   bolters   and 


26 


Book  of  Wrinkles 


causing  breakdowns  and  delays,  to  say  nothing  of  the  extra  work  and 
worry  for  the  miller.    These  covers  can  be  placed  between  each  of  the 


scalpers  and  the  succeeding  break  rolls,  as  well  as  on  all  other  spouts 
that  are  liable  to  become  filled  up  and  cause  trouble. 


HANDY  SPOUT  RAPPER 

The  sketch  shows  a  spout  rapper  made  from  l>4-inch  rubber  hose 
by  putting  a  handle  in  one  end,  with  a  string  for  hanging  it  up.    This 


f^    /RUBBER   HOSE 


is  a  simple  device,  but  will  be  found  exceedingly  useful.    Put  one  on 
each  floor. 


CHAPTER  IV 

BELTS,  PULLEYS  AND  SHAFTING 


CLAMP  FOR  HOLDING  GLUED  BELTS 

The  drawing  illustrates  a  clamp  for  holding  a  belt  when  gluing. 

to 


l\ 


No  explanation  is  necessary,  except  to  say  that  ^  is  a  cleat  to  lay  the 
edge  of  the  belt  against  to  get  it  straight.  Use  stove  bolts  with  wing 
nuts. 


SHAFT  HANGER  FOR  LIGHT  DUTY 

The  sketch  shows  the  application  of  an  easily  made  shaft  hanger 
for  light  duty.    The  wrought  iron  strap  can  be  bent  and  drilled  by  any 


good  blacksmith  and  can  be  bolted  to  beam  or  ceiling,  as  shown  by  the 
drawing.  For  a  short  elevator  shaft,  or  one  with  no  great  amount  of 
strain,  a  strap  3^  inch  thick  and  2  inches  wide  will  be  sufficient. 


28 


THE   BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


A  BELT  TIGHTENER  KINK 

Oftentimes  there  occur  cases  around  mills  and  elevators  where  it 
is  desirable,  for  various  reasons,  to  so  arrange  one  or  more  machines 
that  it  may  be  possible  to  stop  and  starti  them  conveniently  without 
reference  to  the  running  of  the  rest  of  the  machinery. 


In  the  accompanying  figure- Fl  is  the  driven  pulley  on  counter- 
shaft, and  P  is  the  pulley  from  which  power  is  taken.  The  pulley,  PI, 
is  started  or  stopped  by  means  of  the  twin  idlers,  /,  //,  which  are 
mounted  on  a  bar  of  iron,  B,  of  suitable  size ;  the  pulleys  running  on 
stud  bolts  screwed  into  this  bar.  This  bar,  in  turn,  is  fastened  on 
wooden  piece,  F,  which  with  the  bar,  B,  is  pivoted  on  a  suitable  bolt 
at  A. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  when  the  handle  on  end  of  F  is  pressed 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


29 


down  it  will  tighten  the  belt  without  a  very  great  swing  of  the  idlers ; 
and  when  the  handle  is  lifted  up,  it  will  release  the  belt  and  allow  it 
to  hang  freely  from  the  bottom  pulley,  P. 

The  belt  is  held  at  proper  tension  by  means  of  the  locking  device 
shown,  consisting  of  iron  bar,  L,  attached  to  block,  F,  and  having  at 
its  upper  end  a  pin,  P,  which  engages  in  suitable  notches  in  bar,  N, 
and  holds  the  idler  frame  wherever  set,  and  which  is  conveniently 
released  by  simply  raising  up  bar  A'. 

The  device  is  not  recommended  on  belts  above  3  inches,  nor  in  any 
case  where  one  idler  can  be  made  to  serve  the  purpose,  ks  it  takes 
more  power  than  a  single  idler ;  but  on  a  small  belt  the  matter  of 
()ower  does  not  cut  very  much  figure. 


CLEANING  SHAFTING 

When  it  is  desired  to  keep  shafting  bright  and  clean,  the  device 
shown  in  the  sketch  may  be  employed.     It  is  simply  a  box  made  to  fit 


£ 


B 


jr^^y. 


m 


under  the  shaft,  with  end  pieces  to  prevent  the  polishing  material  from 
escaping. 

In  Fig.  1,  B-B-B-B  indicate  wire  hangers,  and  2-2  the  hooks  by 
which  they  are  fastened  to  the  box,  so  that  the  latter  can  be  put  up  and 
taken  down  at  will.  It  may  be  filled  with  sawdust  or  any  other  mate^ 
rial  that  will  absorb  the  grease  and  dirt  and  keep  the  shafting  bright. 

Figure  2  shows  a  plan  which  dispenses  with  the  hangers.  The 
end  piece  is  cut  in  two  and  the  upper  half  is  fitted  with  a  piece  of  belt 
which  extends  down  over  the  sides  of  the  box  and  holds  it  in  place, 
being  fastened  with  screws  3. 


30 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


INEXPENSIVE  BELT  GUARDS 

As  examples  of  some  of  the  simplest  things  for  improving  a  mill, 
the  accompanying  sketches  are  given,  and  they  are  also  examples  di 
the  use  a  millwright  can  make  of  odds  and  ends  of  lumber.     Every 


scrap  of  matched  and  beaded  lumber  used  for  the  bins  can  be  used,  as 
these  belt  guards  require  only  small  pieces  of  board. 

In  Fig.   1   is  shown  a  way  of  making  belt  guards.     The  edges 
are  nicely  beveled  and,  after  notching  out  for  the  belt,  are  placed  in 


position  as  shown  in  Fig.  2  and  fastened  down  with  round-headed 
screws. 

Where  large  and  unsightly  holes  have  been  cut  through  the  floor 
this  is  very  satisfactory,  as  the  beaded  lumber  will  always  make  a 
nice  appearance,  even  if  the  surface  to  be  covered  is  large.  Where  a 
cross  or  quarter  twist  belt  passes  through  the  floor  and  the  guards 
must  be  set  at  an  angle  they  still  look  well, 


THE   BOOK   OF    WRINKLES 


31 


SUGGESTION  FOR  GLUING  BELTS 

It  is  desirable  when  freshly  glued  belts  are  drying  that  there  should 
be  some  means  of  giving  pressure.    An  old  copying  press,  such  as  may 


be  found  in  almost  any  establishment,  is  very  handy  for  this  purpose, 
as  shown  in  sketch.  ' 


SIMPLE  SPEED  INDICATOR 

The  sketch  shows  a  speed  indicator  fixed  on  the  main   upright 
shaft  on  the  grinding  floor.    It  consists  of  a  plumb-bob  hung  on  a  wire 


^FEED 


12  inches  Ipng  and  fastened  to  the  upright  shaft  with  a  piece  of  hoop 
iron,  which  is  bolted  tight  with  a  small  elevator  bolt. 

The  hoop  extends  out  far  enough  to  allow  for  a  hole  in  which 
to  hang  the  wire  that  supports  the  bob.  Another  piece  of  hoop  iron 
is  bent  around  the  shaft  and  extended  out  for  about  12  inches.    It  is 


Z2 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


then  bent  double  and  brought  back  to  the  shaft,  the  two  ends  being 
bolted  together  in  the  same  manner  as  the  upper  band.  A  leather 
washer  is  placed  on  the  bolt  between  the  two  strips  of  hoop  iron  and 
serves  to  keep  them  apart  sufficiently  to  allow  the  wire  to  swing  per- 
fectly free  between  them.  This  iron  is  about  10  inches  below  the  one 
that  supports  the  plumb-bob,  and,  being  double,  it  makes  a  slot  for 
the  bob  wire  to  hang  in. 

The  bob  must  hang  a  couple  of  inches  below  this  arm,  so  that  it 
will  not  strike  when  it  swings  out.  This  arm  is  marked  or  graduated 
so  that  the  miller  can  tell  the  least  change  in  the  motion  of  the  shaft. 
These  marks  should  be  of  dark  or  light  colored  paint,  a  distinguishing 
color  being  used  to  show  the  position  at  which  the  speed  of  the  shaft 
is  just  right.  By  this  means  a  glance  is  sufficient  to  show  whether  the 
drive  is  too  fast  or  too  slow. 


KEEPING  BELTS  CLEAN 

The  accompanying  sketch  illustrates  a  simple  and  efficient  method 
of  keeping  belts  clean.     A  piece  of  cotton  belting  large  enough  to 


cor  TO /v"  -B^J^T 


^L 


y-^jfLT — 


vyyyyyyyy2, 


■^ 


SLIT  FOB  B£LJ' 


a^ 


yyyyyyyyyy^  yyy^'^ 


CLE/1 /^^f\ 


cover  the  belt  hole  in  the  floor  is  slit  through  the  center,  as  shown, 
to  allow  the  belt  to  pass  through.     It  is  then  tacked  under  the  floor 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


33 


over  the  belt  hole.     In  this  position  it  will  keep  both  sides  of  the  belt 
clean  and  will  not  cause  wear  on  the  belt  itself. 


HOME-MADE  BELT  SCRAPER 

A  very  handy  belt   scraper  can  be  made   from   the   scythe  of  a 
mowing  machine,  as  shown  in  the  accompanying  sketch.     A  handle 


is  attached  by  passing  a  bolt  through  the  center  of  the  blade  and 
through  the  entire  length  of  the  handle.  This  tool  is  very  easy  to 
make  and  will  hold  an  edge  in  good  shape. 


INCREASING  DIAMETER  OF  PULLEYS 

Here  is  a  good  way  to  increase  the  diameter  of  a  pulley.     Take  a 
4-strand   Manila   rope   and  make  one  end   fast  with   a  hook-shaped 


/fOFJE^ 


POLLEY 


quarter-inch  bolt.  Wrap  the  rope  tightly  around  the  pulley,  making 
the  other  end  fast  in  the  same  manner  as  the  first  one.  This  is  an 
inexpensive  way  to  make  a  pulley  larger  and  still  leave  the  face  true. 
It  takes  only  a  little  time  to  do  the  work. 


CHAPTER  V 

SAFETY  APPLIANCES  AND  DEVICES 


FIRST  AID  TO  INJURED  EMPLOYES 

Few  mills,  even  those  of  considerable  prominence  throughout  the 
country,  give  any  special  attention  to  caring  for  employes  receiving 
slight  injuries.     All  mills  should  have  a  medical  cabinet  on  the  wall 


in  some  convenient  place,  and  large  enough  to  hold  emergency  sup- 
plies. Over  each  cabinet  should  be  framed  a  copy  of  emergency  in- 
structions, which  all  the  men  should  read  carefully.  These  instructions 
should  state  briefly  the  proper  course  to  pursue  in  case  of  different 
accidents,  such  as  fractures,  scalp  wounds,  etc.  The  case  should  be 
lettered  ''Medical  Cabinet"'  and  the  key  should  be  attached  to  a  large 
tag  and  hung  near  the  case. 

The  cabinet  need  not  be  expensive;  it  can  be  made  of  pine  and 
nicely  finished  with  stain  and  varnish.  It  should  be  large  enough  to 
contain  as  many  shelves  as  necessary  to  hold  the  following  articles, 
compactly  arranged  in  their  proper  places :  Eight  ounces  listerine ;  8 
ounces  tincture  of  arnica;  one  package  absorbent  cotton;  one  roll  of 
adhesive  plaster,  ^-inch;  one  package  iodoform  gauze,  2-inch;  six 
rolls  plain  gauze,  1-inch ;  one  package  safety  pins ;  8  ounces  carron  oil ; 
8  ounces  whisky ;  one  roll  Z.  O.  adhesive  plaster,  2-inch ;  three  first- 
aid  packages;  two  rolls  plain  gauze,  2^-inch;  one  pair  small  surgeon's 
scissors;  one  rubber  tourniquet.  Place  a  list  on  the  inside  of  the 
cabinet  door  and  give  instructions  to  the  man  in  charge  to  see  that  the 
stock  is  at  all  times  kept  complete.  The  cost  of  the  outfit  is  small 
and  the  benefit  to  be  derived  from  it  in  times  of  emergency  is  great, 


THE   BOOK   OF   WRI INKLES 


35 


The  cabinet  must  be  made  with  a  door  and  kept  sanitary.  The  accom- 
panying drawing  gives  an  idea  of  its  construction,  and  a  description 
is  not  necessary. 


DANGER  SIGNAL  FOR  PASSENGER  ELEVATOR 

The  accompanying  sketch  shows  a  danger  signal  for  passenger 
elevators.  It  is  to  be  attached  at  the  top  of  the  elevator  and  consists 
of  a  light  board  hung  on  a  hinge,  so  that  it  extends  over  the  step. 


STR/iPS 


V^/i'^f^  /^/ffi 


The  step  raises  the  board  in  its  ascent  and  allows  it  to  drop  back. 
The  light  straps  hanging  down  are  intended  to  warn  a  man  that  there 
is  danger.  He  can  then  get  off  and  not  go  over  the  top,  in  which 
case  he  might  lose  his  Ife. 


.^6 


THE   BOOK   01^   WRINKLES 


SLEEVE  FOR  THOSE  ABOUT  MACHINERY 

A  dangling  coat  sleeve  and  an  open  gear  have  been  the  cause  of 
more  than  one  man's  losing  an  arm.  The  illustration  shows  some- 
thing that  will  eliminate  the  possibility  of  such  an  accident. 

It  is  a  jumper  jacket  sleeve,  intended  for  men  working  about 
machinery.     It  is  the  same  as  a  coat  sleeve,  but  has  no  buttons  on  it, 


and  at  the  w^rist  has  a  piece  of  elastic  to  hold  it  to  a  close  fit.  Then 
when  you  reach  over  your  head  to  dig  out  some  dirt  or  relieve  a  choke 
the  stuff  will  not  slide  down  your  arm  to  the  shoulder,  and  the  sleeve 
Iceeps  the  garment  worn  under  it  clean,  too. 


BELT  MITTEN 

Every  man  who  has  anything  to  do  with  running  belts  should 
protect  his  hands.  The  illustration  shows  a  belt  mitten  for  use  in 
throwing  running  belts. 

Take  a  piece  of  flexible  single  leather  belting,  place  it  in  the  palm 


of  the  hand  and  bend  it  into  a  U-shape ;  this  will  give  the  size  required 
for  the  hand.  Next  trim  the  corners  as  shown  in  A  and  cut  the  two 
slots  indicated. 

Then  cut  another  piece  of  flexible  leather  in  the  form  shown  at  C 
for  a  strap  over  the  back  of  the  hand,  insert  the  two  ends  in  the  slots, 
and  you  have  the  protector  complete,  as  shown  at  B. 


THE   BOOK   OF    WRtNKLKS 


37 


SET  SCREW  GUARD 

A  safeguard  for  the  dangerous  set  screw  is  shown  in  the  cut  given 
herewith.  It  is  cheap  and  efficient,  and  consists  of  a  solid  rubber 
ball  cut  in  two,  with  holes  in  it  just  large  enough  to  go  tight  on  the 
set  screw.     It  will  stick  on  the  fastest  running  shaft  and  can  easily  be 

RUBBtR  Bflbb 


taken  off  when  need  be.  The  dotted  lines  in  the  figure  show  the  set 
screw  in  the  rubber.  The  ball  can  be  cut  out  to  fit  the  round  collar  or 
hub,  as  the  case  may  be. 


TIN  PANS  AS  SET  SCREW  PROTECTORS 

Good  set  screw  protectors  can  be  made  from  tin  pudding  pans 
about  11/2  inches  deep  by  7  inches  in  diameter,  the  size,  of  course, 
being  governed  somewhat  by  the  length  and  diameter  of  the  collar  and 


Pf\n 


SPOKE 


SET 

sc«cw 


w/«c- 


^/SPok£" 


set  screw.  Punch  holes  in  the  rim  of  the  pan  and  fasten  it  to  the 
arms  of  the  pulley  with  wires.  If  a  shaft  projects  beyond  the  collar 
cut  a  hole  in  the  bottom  of  pan  large  enough  to  admit  the  shaft. 

This  does  away  with  all  danger  of  set  screws  and  the  cost  Is  only 


38 


THE    BOOK   OF    WRINKLES 


about  4  cents  per  pulley.     This  device  cannot  be  used  on  line  shaft 
pulleys,  but  for  roller  pulleys  it  is  simple  and  efficient. 


COVERING  DANGEROUS  SET  SCREWS 
AND  COUPLINGS 

The  set  screw  protector  shown  below  is  simple  and  effective  and 
any  miller  with  a  sheet  of  tin  and  a  pair  of  tinner's  shears  can  cover 
every  set  screw  in  the  mill  in  a  few  hours  with  but  little  or  no  expense. 

You  will  notice  the  outside  tap  is  a  little  wider  than  the  inside, 
and  runs  backward,  making  it  utterly  impossible  to  catch  on  anything. 
To  make  it,  cut  a  strip  of  tin  nearly  if  not  fully  the  width  of  the 
face  of  the  collar.  Then  turn  the  wide  end  one-quarter  inch.  Place 
the  strip  around  the  collar  and  over  the  top  of  set-screw.     Mark  it 


at  the  turned  point,  not  at  the  bend.  Cut  off  one-quarter  inch  longer, 
turn  at  the  mark,  hook  with  wide  end  outside,  hammer  down  lightly 
on  shaft.  "Place  the  band  thus  formed  on  face  of  collar  opposite  set- 
screw  ;  lift  onto  head  of  screw  and  there  you  are. 

This  can  be  used  just  as  readily  and  is  as  efficient  in  covering 
couplings  where  the  heads  and  points  of  bolts  are  prominent.  Let  the 
tin  be  sufficiently  wide  to  reach  far  enough  on  each  side  of  coupling 
to  efifectually  cover  both  heads  and  points  of  bolts. 


THE   BOOK   OF   WRINKLES       '  39 

MILL  LADDER 

A  good  ladder  is  a  necessity  around  a  mill.  A  ladder  which  is  to 
be  carried  around  should  be  as  light  as  can  be  made  to  safely  hold  up 
the  ones  who  use  it.  The  light  ladder  is  always  the  safest.  It  can  be 
handled  without  danger  of  getting  into  the  belts  and  wheels  and  should 
be  made  as  narrow  as  possible,  especially  at  the  top,  so  that^it  will 
go  in  close  places. 

The  form  of  ladder  shown  in  the  accompanying  sketch  is  a  good, 
safe  one.     It  has  sharp,  pointed  iron  floor  pieces  that  will  hold  in  the 


floor,  for  a  mill  floor  can  get  very  slippery.  Such  points  will  hold  in 
any  floor — in  fact,  they  will  not  slip  on  a  concrete  floor.  These  and 
the, safety  catches  shown  on  the  top  of  the  ladder  make  a  safe  ladder 
than  can  be  used  in  corners  and  near  machines  without  danger  of 
slipping. 


SAFETY  WATER  BARREL  FOR  FIRE 

Millers  "have  often  been  annoyed  by  the  breaking  of  the  hoops  of 
their  water  barrels.  This  is  due  to  the  corrosion  caused  by  the  salt  in 
the  barrel.    The  unsightliness  of  the  barrel  and  the  odor  coming  from 


40 


THE   BOOK   OF    WRINKLES 


same,  to  say  nothing  about  the  cost  and  the  unpleasantness  when  the 
hoops  break,  are  very  disagreeable  to  the  miller.  To  overcome  this, 
make  a  galvanized  iron  tank  a  trifle  wider  and  higher  than  the  barrel. 


and  fill  the  space  with  sawdust.  After  the  sawdust  has  become  packed 
the  barrel  will  not  break,  even  though  the  hoops  pass  away  through 
corrosion. 


CHAPTER  VI 

ELEVATING  AND  CONVEYING 


NON-ABRASIVE  CONVEYOR 

This  conveyor  wrinkle  is  intended  to  facilitate  the  emptying  or 
removal  of  stock  from  conveyors,  with  the  least  abrasion  or  grinding 
action  possible. 

The  sketch  will  explain  the  idea,  A  A  represents  the  octagon 
conveyor  stick  and  the  two  concavely  placed  conveyor  flights  usually 
found  in  all  purifiers  and  machines  having  conveyors  which  remove 


the  stocks  from  the  sides  of  the  conveyor  box.  5  is  a  piece  of  tin 
fitted  and  tacked  to  the  insides  of  the  flights  to  form  the  sides  and 
back  of  a  cup  so  that  no  stock  can  work  or  fall  through  the  flights  in 
their  passage  over  or  under.  C  is  another  piece  of  tin  shaped  to  come 
down  over  the  edge  of  the  conveyor  stick  and  tacked,  the  back  pointed 
to  fit  into  the  pocket  formed  by  B  and  the  point  of  this  tin  is  raised 
about  a  half  inch  to  further  facilitate  free  emptying  of  the  cup.     D 


42  THE   BOOK    OF  WRINKLES 

is  a  three-cornered  piece  of  tin  cut  to  fit  over  the  top  edges  of  the 
wood  flights  and  tackled  on  to  complete  the  cup,  so  that  the  conveyor, 
in  turning,  will  bring  the  stock  to  this  point  and  the  cup  will  then  act 
just  like  an  elevator  cup,  picking  up  the  stock  in  its  passage  through 
and  dumping  it  freely  from  the  machine  without  injury  from  repeated 
dragging  of  the  conveyor  flights  through  the  stock. 

In  case  the  conveyor  runs  under  or  .discharges  the  stock  from 
the  machine  without  carrying  it  over  the  conveyor,  tin  D  is  omitted 
and  only  tin  parts  B  and  C  used.  The  cup  will  then  push  all  stock 
brought  to  it  entirely  away  from  the  conveyor  and  out  of  the  box, 
thus,  either  way,  delivering  the  stock  to  rolls  or  following  operation  in 
the  best  possible  condition. 


IMPROVING  WHEAT  DAMPENING  CONVEYOR 

The  ordinary  conveyor  used  for  dampening  wheat  for  tempering 
purposes  does  not  thoroughly  mix  all  of  the  wheat  with  the  water 
being  applied,  wheat  directly  under  the  stream  generally  getting  most 


of  it.  with  insuflicient  mixing  before  the  grain  is  discharged  from  the 
conveyor. 

By  attaching  mixing  flights,  as  shown  by  the  sketch,  the  full  length 
of  the  conveyor,  the  wheat  is  thoroughly  mixed  as  it  is  carried  forward 
and  each  grain  more  uniformly  dampened  than  can  be  done  without 
such  flights. 

Get  the  required  number  of  conveyor  flight  fastener  lugs  (threaded 
style)  from  the  manufacturer  or  dealer  for  4,  6  or  8-inch  conveyor,  as 
the  case  may  be,  and  rivet  to  these  a  piece  of  18  gauge  galvanized  iron 
just  large  enough  so  the  lug  may  be  turned  into  the  threaded  holes 
which  have  been  drilled  into  the  shaft  at  regular  intervals,  one-quarter 
way  around  the  shaft  from  each  other,  and  screw  in  lugs  with  attached 
flights. 

The  conveyor  so  arranged  will  consume  a  small  amount  of  extra 
power,   for  which  provision  must  be  made  if  your  present   driving 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


43 


arrangement  is  not  ample,  but  it  will  be  found  a  great  improvement  in 
dampening  the  wheat. 


CHAIN  CONVEYOR 

A  common  size  logging  chain  wound  around  a  shaft  and  drawn 
tight  at  each  end  with  a  split  collar,  makes  a  good  emergency  conveyor, 


SF>UT  COLLAR 


/.OG    CHy^//^ 


CO/yV£YOR 

especially  in  narrow  places  where  a  line  shaft  is  available. 


KEEPING  ELEVATOR  LEGS  CLEAN 

The  accompanying  illustration  shows  plainly  the  manner  of  niak- 
ino^  and  applying  to  elevator  belts  a  device  for  keeping  clean  elevator 


legging  that  is  inclined  to  become  foul  from  rnoisture  and  accumulated 
dust. 

It  is  made  barely  to  touclf  the  leg  on  all  sides,  and  in  two  styles, 
either  with  coil  or  straight  springs,  A  and  B,  respectively.  It  is  fastened 
with  elevator  bolts.     No.  9  spring  wire  is  the  size  to  be  used. 


44 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


REMOVING  HOT  AIR  FROM  ELEVATORS 

Herewith  is  a  sketch  showing  a  plan  in  use  for  removing  hot  air 
from  the  elevators  used  to  carry  stock  from  rolls  to  reels  or  sifters, 
which  sometimes  become  pasty  and  smell  musty. 

The  plan  is  so  simple  that  little  explanation  is  needed.  A  box 
is  extended  the  full  length  of  the  elevator  line  near  the  top  on  the 
upgoing  legs,  as  at  this  point  the  least  stock  will  be  drawn  from  them. 
In  the  box  is  placed  a  small  cotton  belt  which  removes  all  dust,  the 
latter  falling  back  into  the  elevator  through  the  openings  made  for 
the  suction. 

Good  results  can  be  obtained  by  connecting  with  the  eye  of  a  purifier 


fan.^  The  belt  has  two  or  three  small  leather  strips  tacked  across  it 
to  act  as  a  drag,  and  should  itself  be  much  narrower  than  the  box 
in  which  it  runs  in  order  to  give  the  air  a  free  outlet  from  the  elevator 
leg  to  the  fan. 

Figure  1  shows  the  general  plan  along  the  elevator  line,  and  Figure 
2  shows  an  end  view  of  the  box,  with  pulley  and  opening  into  the 
elevator  leg.  By  this  arrangement  elevators  are  easily  kept  in  a  clean 
and  sanitary  condition. 


TO  TIGHTEN  ELEVATOR  BELTS 

This  device  for  tightening  elevator  belts  is  somewhat  different  from 
the  usual  block-and-tackle  principle  employed.  Take  a  wooden  roller 
about  12  inches  long,  a  broom  handle  will  do  nicely,  and  flatten  one 
end  so  that  a  monkey  wrench  will  slip  on  for  a  crank. 

Bore  two  holes  through  the  roller  about  5  inches  apart,  take  a 
piece  of  small  rope  about  12  feet  long,  and  put  the  ends  through  the 
holes.    Tie  the  ends  together,  leaving  the  loose  ends  each  about  a  foot 


THE   BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


45 


long.  In  using,  the  knot  is  drawn  up  under  the  bucket  which  is  above 
the  buckle,  and  the  loose  ends  tied  together  over  the  top.  The  loop 
below  the  roller  hooks  under  a  bucket  below  the  buckle.     Then  the 


roller,  lying  against  the  opening  in  the  elevator  leg,  is  turned  with 
the  wrench,  drawing  the  ends  of  the  elevator  strap  together  as  much 
as  desired. 


CLEVER  WAY  OF  MAKING  CONVEYOR  BOX 

The  accompanying  is  intended  to  help  out  some  miller  or  mill- 
wright in  making  a  conveyor  box  when  lumber  for  same  cannot  be 


had  in  proper  widths.  The  sketch  shows  how  to  make  a  box  for  a 
12-inch  conveyor  out  of  2-inch  strips,  and  to  make  a  neat  job  one  corner 
can  be  beaded.     The  box  can  be  made  any  length  by  nailing  one  strip 


46 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


on  the  other,  as  you  would  crib  a  bin,  making  joints  wherever  con- 
venient. A  box  made  in  this  manner  will  not  warp  and  will  always 
remain  straight  and  in  place,  and  can  be  built  by  anyone. 


HANDY  ELEVATOR  BELT  TIGHTENER 

This  little  elevator  belt  tightener  is  easily  rigged,  requiring  only 
two  small  blocks  and  tackle  and  some  rope,  with  a  little  rod  iron.  The 
method  of  rigging  up  this  contrivance  is  as  follows :    Buy  two  double 


blocks  of  galvanized  iron  made  to  carry  a  34-ii^<^l^  rope.  Such  blocks 
can  be  purchased  at  about  15  cents  each  at  any  hardware  store.  Make 
the  hooks,  B,  by  which  the  blocks  are  attached  to  the  belt  ends,  of  i% 
rod  iron,  sharpened  at  the  ends.  After  attaching  the  blocks  to  these 
hooks  make  them  fast  on  each  side  of  the  splice.  Then  by  pulling 
down  on  the  loose  efid  of  the  rope,  A,  the  belt  can  be  tightened  as 
much  as  is  desired. 


CHAPTER  VII 

SIGNALS  AND  INDICATORS 


ALARM  FOR  MILL  DOOR 

The  sketch  shows  an  alarm  for  a  door  which  will  be  found  of  use 
in  small  mills  where  there  is  no  helper. 

The  idea  is  perhaps  plain  enough  without  any  special  explanation ; 
but  to  make  it  perfectly  clear"  the  figures  will  show  the  different  parts. 
An  old-fashioned  double  door  is  shown  at  /;  the  latch  commonly  used 


on  these  doors  is  shown  at  2;  j  is  the  door  alarm  which  sounds  when 
the  door  is  opened;  4  is  an  old  circle  saw,  12  inches  in  diameter, 
which  gives  a  heavy  sound;  5  is  a  piece  of  iron  on  handle  for  sounder; 
(5  is  a  hole  through  center  of  handle,  with  pin  in  it,  so  it  can  work  on 
a  pivot  or  hinge.  The  sounder  or  hammer  5  is  worked  by  a  cord  7. 
A  latch  on  door  to  work  lever  to  cord  is  shown  at  8,  while  9  is  a 
notch  in  lever  to  catch  latch  on  door;  and  as  the  door  is  opened  the 
latch  draws  this  lever  back  about  9  inches,  and  of  course  by  that  time 


48 


THt:    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


it  slips  off,  which  lets  hammer  fall  on  saw.  As  the  door  is  closed 
this  will  latch  itself.  The  hinge  on  which  the  lever  works  is  shown 
at  10,  while  //  shows  where  the  cord  is  fastened  to  lever,  and  12  indi- 
cates a  small  pulley  or  spool  for  turning  the  cord  and  letting  it  work 
freely. 

As  will  be  seen,  when  the  door  is  opened  the  alarm  sounds  and 
can  be  heard  over  the  entire  mill  above  basement,  even  when  the  mill 
is  running. 


ALARM  FOR  ELEVATOR  LEGS 

This  little  device  will  save  a  lot  of  time  and  many  steps  to  the 
miller  when  he  has  work  in  his  office,  particularly  if  he  has  elevators 
up  stairs  that  choke,  as  wheat  elevators  occasionally  do. 


Office 


As  shown  in  the  diagram,  A  is  the  elevator  leg,  in  which  a  hole 
is  cut  at  B.  A  piece  of  leather  is  held  loosely  in  the  hole  by  a  pin,  the 
leather  projecting  far  enough  into  the  leg  to  allow  the  cups  to  flip  it, 
causing  the  cord  C  to  jerk.  The  cord  is  run  through  screw  eyes  to  the 
office  or  down-stairs,  as  the  case  may  be,  and  a  piece  of  sack,  D,  tied 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


49 


to  the  end.  The  motion  of  D  will  tell  the  man  in  the  office  that  his 
elevator  is  running,  if  it  is  not  moving  the  elevator  has  stopped.  This 
same  device  may  be  connected  to  any  machine  up-stairs,  such  as  a 
purifier,  sifter  or  separator. 


SIGNAL  FOR  MILL,  OFFICE  AND  RESIDENCE 

The  accompanying  diagram  shows  an  electric  signal  system  which 

will  save  the  miller  many  steps.     Two  wires  are  run  from  the  office 

through  the  mill  to  residence ;  the  necessary  bells,  batteries  and  buttons 

are  connected,  as  shown  in  the  illustration,  and  with  a  simple  code 

OFf/C£  r£stP£/^£ 


Ml  ILL 


messages  can  be  sent  and  received  by  opening  and  closing  the  circuit 
with  the  push  button. 

Below  are  some  signals,  which  can  be  altered  as  desired.     The 
dots  indicate  rings  and  the  dashes  the  intervals  between  rings : 

.  . Second  miller. 

.  . How  is  the  mill  ? 

—  .  ... .... ....  O.K. 

— ^  Hot  box. 

. .  . .  . .  . .  .  .  .  Choke. 

— .  . .  . .  . . .  Dinner. 

— .  .  .  . .  .  .  . .  . .  .  Visitors  (wash  up). 

— .  . .  . .  . .  . Creditors  (hide). 


so 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


FEED  ALARM 

The  accompanying  sketch  shows  a  device  which  is  handy  for  using 
on  attrition  mills  and  feed  rolls.  It  will  give  warning  when  the  feed 
passes  the  valve,  and  will  thus  give  the  operator  time  to  start  on  the 
next  grist. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  device  is  quite  simple,  and  anyone  can 
make  it  in  a  few  minutes  and  at  very  slight  expense.    The  iron  bell, 


wires  and  switch  will  cost  only  about  75  cents,  and  any  dry  battery 
will  answer  the  purpose,  at  a  cost  of  from  25  to  50  cents. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  feed  will  raise  the  copper  valve  and  after  it 
passes  out,  the  valve  will  drop  on  the  screw  and  make  the  circuit. 
The  valve  is  of  copper ;  a  is  a  brass  rod  running  through  spout.  The 
other  parts  are  marked  on  sketch. 


HOPPER  ALARM 

The  diagram  shows  a  device  which  will  prove  of  great  assistance 
to  many.  It  is  an  alarm  placed  between  hopper  and  roll  to  notify  one 
when  the  hopper  is  empty.  It  is  a  very  simple  little  device  and  can  be 
made  by  anyone  with  but  little  cost. 

Letter  a  represents  a  valve  with  lever  attached ;  b,  cord  running 
from  lever  over  small  pulley  c  to  bell  d.    Letter  ^  is  a  clamp  on  feed 


THE   BOOK   OF   WRINKLES 


51 


roll  shaft.  This  clamp  is  made  by  taking  a  strip  of  wood  about  4 
inches  long  and  13/2  inches  wide  by  1  inch  thick.  Cut  a  hole  through 
center  of  block  the  size  of  shaft.  Then  saw  down  through  the  center 
of  block  lengthwise.  Place  one  of  the  strips  on  each  side  of  shaft 
and  draw  them  together  with  screws. 

While  the  spout  is   full  of  grain  the  valve  and  bell  will  remain 


as  in  diagram;  but  just  as  soon -as  the  spout  gets  empty,  the  valve 
falls,  which  drops  the  bell  within  reach  of  the  clamp,  causing  the  bell 


CALL  BELL  SYSTEM  FOR  MILLS 

The  accompanying  sketch  shows  a  call  bell  system  which  consists 
of  a  series  of  tappers  attached  to  the  joist,  on  which  is  fastened  a 
gong,  bell,  old  piece  of  saw,  or  piece  of  steel,  whichever  may  be  handy. 
Attached  to  each  of  these  tappers  is  a  piece  of  wire,  which  prevents 
stretching  or  shrinking,  extending  from  working  floor  to  garret. 

A  half-inch  rope  is  securely  fastened  to  the  tapper  on  the  work- 
ing floor  and  extends  down  around  a  side  pulley  which  is  fastened  to 
the  post  or  elevator  leg,  and  up  to  the  garret  and  is  there  made  secure. 

To  ring  the  bell,  give  one  pull  upward  on  the  rope,  and  all  the 
bells  will  be  struck  simultaneously.  The  number  of  taps  for  each 
floor  can  be  arranged  understandingly  to  all  employes.  For  example : 
One  tap  calls  the  miller  in  charge  to  the  working  floor  for  consulta- 
tion ;  two  taps  call  all  employes  supposed  to  assist  in  relieving  chokes, 


55 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


adjusting  belts,  or  whatever  the  trouble  may  be,  to  the  "first  floor  as 
speedily  as  possible ;  three  taps,  second  floor ;  four  taps,  third  floor, 
five  taps,  fourth  floor,  etc. 

Any  employe,  no  matter  on  what  floor  he  may  be,  can  hear  the 
taps  distinctly,  and,  by  counting  same,  he  can  proceed  immediately  to 


JO /ST 


^ 


1 


BELL 


SPRING 


JOIST 


^^X 


BELL 


WIRE 


JOIST 


^ 


BELL 


^ROPE 


JOIST 


^ 


BELL 


■SIDE  PULLEY 


WORKING  FLOOR 


1 

the  floor  indicated  by  the  number  of  taps.  For  example :  The  oiler 
or  sweeper  working  in  garret  finds  a  choke,  slipping  belt  or  a  hot  box, 
and  races  down  stairs  from  floor  to  floor  looking  for  assistance;  finds 
miller  on  the  first  floor,  and  both  proceed  to  garret  only  to  find  that 
choke  has  ruined  a  cloth,  the  slipping  belt  is  beyond  repair,  or  the 
hot  box  is  on  fire.  With  this  device  speedy  assistance  can  be  obtained 
from  any  floor  and  serious  danger  perhaps  averted. 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


S.1 


ELECTRIC  SPOUT  ALARM 

The  accompanying  sketch   shows  an  electric  alarm  as  applied  to 
spouts  running  full  of  grain  or  other  material. 

In  the  sketch,  A  is  tJie  spout ;  B,  a  tongue  in  the  spout ;  C,  a  bar 


or  lever  outside  of  spout ;  D,  bar  loosely  connected  to  bar  C;  E,  a 
loose  joint ;  F,  a  pin  in  bar;  G,  a  hook  to  engage  with  pin  when  spout 
is  empty ;  HH,  copper  wire ;  II,  batteries ;  K,  copper  or  brass  plates  or 
plugs  to  which  wire  is.  connected! 


ALARM  FOR  GRAIN  BINS 

The  accompanying  drawing  illustrates  a  device  which,  if  properly 
constructed,  will  save  many  a  choke. 

In  the  spout,  a,  which  is  stationarv,  is  located  a  small' six-armed 


fan,  b.  To  one  end  of  the  fan  shaft  is  attached  the  crosspiece,  c.  The 
spout,  which  is  of  the  ordinary  kind,  is  attached  to  the  bih  at  the 
highest  point  which  the  grain  reaches  when  the  bin  is  full. 

When  the  bin  is  full  the  grain  rushes  down  the  spout  and  strikes 


54 


THE  ROOiC   OP   WRINKLES 


the  fan,  causing  it  to  rotate  and  the  arms  of  the  crosspiece  to  strike 
the  bell,  d.    The  grain  may  be  spouted  to  a  bin  or  caught  in  a  sack. 


SPEAKING  TUBE  FOR  MILL 

The  drawing  herewith  illustrates  one  of  the  most  useful,  cheap 
and  simple  devices  that  can  be  placed  in  a  flour  mill.  This  drawing 
shows  a  section  of"  a  mill  building  with  a  common  -l^-inch  or  1-inch 


gas  pipe  placed  upright  running  through  the  different  floors,  attaclied 
to  the  lower  end  of  which  is  an  elbow  resting  on  a  wall  bracket,  which 
supports  the  weight  of  the  entire  pipe. 

This  pipe,  beginning  with  the  elbow,  extends  upward  through  the 


THE   BOOK   OF    WRINKLES 


55 


first  floor  to  the  second  story,  where  there  is  a  tee  placed  at  suitable 
height,  the  pipe  continuing  on  from  this  through  second  floor,  termin- 
ating with  an  elbow  in  the  third  story.  It  is  plain  to  see  that  the 
miller  can  talk  to  his  helper  from  any  floor  to  any  other  floor  in  the 
mill.  It  is  only  necessary  to  strike  a  few  light,  quick  blows  with  any 
light  instrument  to  call  help  to  the  tube,  when  instructions  are  quickly, 
easily  and  plainly  given. 


ELEVATOR  SIGNAL 

The   accompanying   sketch    shows   a   very   simple   way   by   which 
the  miller  can  tell  if  his  elevator  is  running  as  he  is  making  his  rounds. 


t*>ore  a  hole  in  the  door  of  the  elevator  or  at  any^other  point  that  will 
be  convenient,  3/^  or  Yi  inch  in  diameter.  Take  a  piece  of  belting 
and  cut  it  so  that  it  will  go  through  the  hole  and  allow  the  elevator 
buckets  to  touch  the  belt.  Cut  it  in  the  shape  shown  and  its  motion  will 
tell  you  at  a  glance  whether  or  not  the  elevator  is  running. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

SEPARATION  AUXILIARIES 


DUST  AND  SCREENINGS  SETTLING  CHAMBER 

This  device  consists  of  running  a  fan  trunk  from  a  cleaner  to  the 
Weill,  as  is  done  in  the  ordinary  way.  Then,  at  a  point  beginning  near 
the  wall,  the  bottom  should  be  removed  for  a  space  of  from  four  to 
six  feet.  Then  put  the  two  sides  of  the  hopper  underneath  the  trunk 
the  same  width  as  this  bottom  and  cover  the  other  two  sides  with 


unbleached  muslin.  Spout  from  the  points  of  this  hopper  to  the  feed 
bin.  When  the  wheat  cleaners  are  in  operation  a  greater  part  of  the 
heavy  dust  and  all  the  cheat  and  screenings  that  are  lifted  by  a  fan 
will  be  precipitated  in  this  chamber,  and  will  run  to  feed  bin  or  feed 
grinder,  as  they  may  be  spouted. 

It  is  important  that  this  settling  chamber  should  be  near  the  wall, 
since  if  a  trunk  is  of  any  considerable  length  beyond  the  settling 
chamber  it  will  gradually  fill  up  with  light  dust  on  the  bottom,  but 


THE   llOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


57 


if  only  a  few  inches  or  a  foot  remains  it  will  not  become  clogged, 
by  reason  of  the  lighter  pressure  of  air  that  would  exist  after  the 
muslin  sides  are  put  onto  the  chamber. 

One  miller  who  is  using  this  device  claims  that  in  cleaning  250 
bushels  of  wheat  he  got  170  pounds  of  screenings  through  this  device 
which  would  otherwise  have  been  blown  out  into  the  mill  yard.  At 
the  time  he  did  it  this  weight  of  feed  was  worth  $1.20.  This  would 
indicate  that  it  could  be  very  profitably  employed  by  any  millers  who 
are  not  at  present  using  the  most  modern  and  up-to-date  dust  col- 
lectors. 


SEPARATING  WHEAT  AND  CORN 

The  illustration  shows  a  simple  device  for  cleaning  corn,  or  for 
separating  wheat  from  corn.     It  needs  no  explanation.     It  will  also 


do  good  service  in  cleaning  corn  in  which  rats  and  mice  have  been 
lodging.  Perforated  metal  with  the  rough  side  down  is  preferable 
for  use  as  screen. 


58 


THE   BOOK   OF   WRINKLES 


SCREENINGS  SEPARATOR 

The  accompanying  wrinkle  is  designed  for  the  purpose  of  sep- 
arating the  straws  from  the  screenings  that  come  from  the  first 
suction   of   a   separator. 

Referring  to  the  drawing,  it  will  be  noticed  that  the  sieve,  B,  is 


connected  to  the  side  of  the  separator  sieve.  A  conveys  screenings 
to  sieve  B,  the  straws,  etc.,  discharging  over  tail  at  D,  while  the 
screenings  discharge  at  C,  to  roll  or  bin.  Any  miller  can  make  this 
sieve  and  connect  it  in  a  few  hours. 


CLEANING  SPOUT 

Millers  who  have  never  tried  the  plan  of  putting  a  screen  in  the 
bottom  of  the  spout  leading  to  the  cleaner  have  no  idea  how  much 
dirt  it  separates  from  the  wheat.  The  arrangements  necessary  to 
make  are  very  simple,  and  the  result  accomplished  is  worth  the  ex- 


pense. Remove  the  bottom  from  a  spout  just  ahead  of  the  cleaner, 
and  cover  the  space,  which  can  be  long  or  short,  as  desired,  with  strong 
wire  of  No.  10  mesh.  Under  the  wire,  "and  on  each  side  of  the  spout 
fasten  Ixl-inch  strips  of  wood.  Cover  the  old  bottom  of  the  spout 
with  tin,  and  replace  it  on  the  spout,  fastening  it  to  the  1x1  pieces. 
This  leaves  a  space  of  1  inch  between  the  wire  and  the  tin. 

There  are  now  two  spouts,  as  shown  .in  the  accompanying  cut. 


THE    COOK    OF    WRINKLES  59 

The  old  one  is  for  carrying  the  wheat,  as  before,  and  the  tin-bottomed 
spout  underneath  for  carrying  off  the  dust  and  grit.  This  can  be  dis- 
posed of  as  is  most  convenient.  It  is  astonishing  the  quantity  of  dirt 
this  simple  arrangement  will  separate  from  wheat  that  looks  clean. 


STRAW  SEPARATOR 

The  accompanying  sketch  shows  a  device  for  removing  straws, 
etc.,  from- the  wheat  that  tails  over  the  wheat  separator.  All  millers 
experience  more  or  less  trouble  in  having  this  separation  made. 


.     .    .      ^^ 

Referring  to  the  drawing,  it  will  be  noticed  that  A  is  the  sieve 
spout ;  B  is  the  sieve.  Straws  and  the  like  from  tail  of  separator  enter 
at  C.  The  straws  discharge  at  D,  and  the  wheat  passing  through  sieve 
B  discharges  at  E  and  is  returned  to  elevator  or  storage. 


IMPROVED  AIR  TRUNK  FROM  CLEANERS 
The  accompanying  sketch  represents  a  dust  spout  or  air  trunk 
from  grain  cleaners  having  an  expansion  chamber  or.  pocket  on  its 
lower  side.  At  the  lower  point  of  this  pocket  are  the  two  hinged 
valves  BB,  which  relieve  each  other  in  discharging  such  heavy  stock 
as  may  be  deposited. 

C  is  an  adjustable  valve  made  the  full  size  of  the  dust  spout 
proper.  D  is  a  screened  slide  which  is  set  in  the  spout  at  the  angle 
shown  in  sketch.     This  slide  is  shown  hyDD.     It  is  a  light  frame 


60 


THE  BOOK  OF  WRINKLES 


double  the  length  of  valve  C  and  the  full  width  of  the  spout.  The 
frame  is  provided  with  a  suitable  handle  for  pulling  it  out  and  is 
covered  with  a  wire  cloth  having  6  meshes  to  the  inch,  the  smooth 
side  being  placed  toward  the  blast. 

By  adjusting  valve  C  the  stock  at  valves  BB  can  be  controlled. 


Screen  D  will  remove  straws,  sticks,  chaff,  strings,  etc.,  which  cause 
so  much  trouble  when  blown  into  tubular  dust  collectors. 


RUBBISH  SEPARATOR 

If  you  are  much  troubled  with  lumps  of  frozen  wheat,  coal,  stones, 
sticks  and  straw,  cut  a  piece  out  of  the  lid  of  the  spout,  15  inches 
long,  and  make  a  trap  in  the  following  manner:     Cut  two  pieces  of 


^-inch  hardwood,  15  inches  long,  4  inches  wide  at  the  inlet  and  7  inches 
wide  at  the  lower  end.  Cut  slots  in  the  side  with  i^-inch  spaces  be- 
tween them,  putting  stout  tin  or  galvanized  iron  in  the  slots.  Between 
the  straight  slots  there  is  an  inch  space,  half  of  which  will  be  filled 
by  the  tiii  being  bent  over  the  same  pitch  as  the  spout,  cutting  the 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


61 


tin  in  shape  indicated  in  the  upper  figure,  bending  over  the  narrow 
portion. 

Care  must  be  taken  that  the  lower  edge  of  each  piece  of  tin 
falls  well  within  the  top  edge  of  the  next,  otherwise  the  wheat  will 
back  up  and  overflow.  The  right  number  of  slots  are  not  in  the 
sketch,  but  measurement  will  rectify,  that. 

There  is  no  bottom,  of  course,  the  two  sides  being  held  together 
by  the  tin.  Take  care  that  the  first  curved  slot  's  at  least  one-half 
inch  above  the  bottom  of  the  spout.  This  rig  will  easily  let  through 
40  bushels  per  hour.  If  you  find  that  wheat  comes  down  too  freely, 
put  a  saw  cut  through  the  spout  a  foot  above  the  rig.  With  a  tin 
slide  you  can  then  regulate  it  to  suit. 


PUTTING  SUCTION  ON  WHEAT 

The  sketch  shows  an  arrangement  for  aspirating  the  wheat  as  it 
enters  the  stock  hoppers.  The  device  is  made  of  wood,  the  leg  being 
lined  with  iron  to  avoid  being  worn  by  the  wheat.    It  should  be  placed 


TIN 


just  above  the  hopper  and  connected  to  suction  fan  as  indicated. '  The 
wheat  should  then  be  spouted  so  that  it  enters  the  leg  in  a  thin,  broad 
sheet  in  order  to  let  the  air  pass  freely  through  the  wheat. 

A  fan  suitable  for  supplying  the  suction  can  be  arranged  at  small 


62 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


cost,  or  the  suction  may  be  had  by  connecting  with  a  separator  fan. 
Anyone  adopting  this  plan  will  doubtless  be  surprised  at  the  amount 
of  dirt  it  will  remove. 


WILD  MUSTARD  SEED  SEPARATOR 

The  accompanying  sketch  shows  a  wild  mustard  seed  separator. 
It  is  designed  to  separate  all  other  seeds  and  dirt  of  all  kinds  from  the 
mustard,  leaving  the  latter  perfectly  clean  for  the  market. 

In  some  localities  millers  are  troubled  with  this  weed  in  their 
wheat,  and,  owing  to  the  fact  that  it  has  been  found  impossible  to 

< 8 > 


SCH^NINQS 


CLiET^N 

Mue>r/\RO 


clean  it  perfectly,  it  has  little  or  no  value.  As  the  device  herewith 
shown  will  clean  it,  the  mustard  seed  becomes  a  commercial  article. 
The  sketch  will  explain  itself.  The  fine  screenings  drop  on  the 
leather  belt  marked  a,  which  varies  in  width  according  to  the  amount 
of  work  it  i's  required  to  do  from  one  inch  to  four  feet.  It  must  be 
smooth,  so  the  mustard  seed  will  roll  off.  The  other  weed  seeds,  not 
being  perfectly  round,  will  carry  uphill  and  dump  down  onto  the  next 
carrier,  giving  the  seed  two  chances  of  separation. 


CHAPTER  IX 

ROLL  APPLIANCES 


ADDITION  TO  THE  TRAMPLATE 

The  traniplate  is  of  far  greater  importance  than  many  realize. 
In  its  present  form  it  is  something  of  a  gold  brick.  It  will  deceive 
the  inexperienced,  and  its  value  to  good  milling  is  not  appreciated. 

Figure  1  of  the  accompanying  sketch  shows  an  end  view  of  a  pair 
of  rolls,  assuming  A  to  he  a.  true  level,  B  the  adjustable  roll  and  C 


^0 


the  stationary  roll.  If  the  opposite  ends  of  these  rolls  were  exactly 
the  same  as  the  ends  shown  the  rolls  would  be  in  perfect  tram — 
according  the  the  tramplate,  although  the  adjustable  roll  may  be  from 
3^  to  ^  inches  higher  than  the  stationary  roll. 

The  end  block  is  represented  by  D,  and  the  opening  between  it 


and  the  stationary  roll  C  might  well  be  called  a  "yield  escape."  Figure 
2  shows  a  similar  vew  of  a  pair  of  rolls  on  the  same  level.  If  the 
opposite  ends  of  these  rolls  were  exactly  the  same  as  the  ends  shown, 
the  rolls  would  be  in  perfect  tram,  parallel  with  one  another  and  level- 
across  the  top. 

Figure  3  represents  a  pair  of  rolls  with  a  tram  plate  placed  thereon. 


64  THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 

E  represents  a  small  spirit  level  attached  to  the  tramplate.  This 
is  the  missing  link,  and  fills  a  long  felt  want  in  the  work  of  tramming 
rolls. 

Assume  that  Figure  1  represents  a  pair  of  smooth  rolls  in  motion. 
Here  are  some  of  the  conditions  we  would  find : 

(1)  Tendency  of  the  adjustable  roll  B  to  climb  C,  commonly 
called  riding. 

(2)  Play  in  the  adjustments,  promoting  vibration  and  quivering. 

(3)  Roil  flaking  easily  and  ringing. 

(4)  Impossibility  of  adjusting  end  block  properly  or  making 
scraper  work  satisfactorily,   due  to   riding  and  quivering. 

(5)  Tight  belts  and  more  power. 

(6)  More  oil  and  hot  bearings. 

(7)  Inferior  work — bad  results. 

Just  such  faults  as  these  may  cause  an  otherwise  good  machine 
to  be  condemned,  sold  at  second  hand,  or  thrown  on  the  junk  heap. 

Assume  that  Figure  2  represents  a  pair  of  rolls  in  perfect  tram. 
This  pair  would  not  have  the  faults  just  enumerated.  They  would 
require  less  power  and  less  oil,  would  create  less  heat ;  end  blocks  and 
scrapers  could  be  adjusted  properly;  they  would  grind  better  and 
cooler;  the  tendency  to  climb,  ride,  flake,  flatten  and  ring  would  ])e 
reduced  to  a  minimum.  The  result  would  be  better  flour,  more  of  it, 
and  a  better  yield. 


TRAM  WHEEL  FOR  RUNNING  ROLLS 

Many  times  it  is  necessary  to  shut  down  a  mill  on  account  of  a 
single  pair  of  badly  running*  rolls.    This  is  frequently  the  case  after  a 


box  has  been  rebabbitted  or  has  been  cooled  down  after  overheating. 
To  avoid  all  this  there  is  a  simple  device  for  tramming  running  rolls, 
rolls  that  are  in  adjustment  and  have  the  grinding  contacts  together. 
Take  a  wheel  which  has  one  rim,  A,  exactly  true,  a  drive  pulley  of  a 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


65 


feed  roll  will  do  the  work  well  if  it  is  true,  and  insert  into  it  a  stick 
of  wood,  C,  as  an  axis. 

The  wooden  axis,  C,  should  be  four  or  five  inches  long  and  of 
such  a  size  at  one  end  that  the  pulley  will  revolve  freely  on  it.  A  nail 
should  be  driven  through  it  at  the  lower  end  to  keep  the  wheel  from 
falling  off.  The  lower  end  of  the  axis  should  not  protrude  beyond 
the  true  side  of  the  wheel,  or  A,  any  more  than  can  be  avoided. 

The  upper  rim  of  the  wheel,  B,  need  not  be  exactly  true,  but  the 
rim.  A,  which  is  the  one  used,  should  be. 

To  ascertain  the  position  of  the  rolls  take  this  little  apparatus  and 
hold  the  wheel,  by  means  of  the  protruding  axis,  C,  so  that  the  true 
rim  of  the  wheel,  A,  rests  upon  the  rolls,  just  as  one  puts  the  tram 
plate  on  them.  The  wheel  will  revolve  quickly,  being  driven  by  that 
end  of  the  roll  which  is  the  highest. 

Tram  just  as  you  would  with  a  plate,  holding  the  wheel  on  the 
rolls  with  one  hand  and  using  the  other  to  level  the  rolls.  When  they 
are  level  the  wheel  will  stop  revolving. 


SELF-ADJUSTING  END  PIECE  FOR  SMOOTH  ROLLS 

The  accompanying  sketch  is  self-explanatory  to  millers  who  know 
the  evil  of  leaky  rolls.  If  the  end-piece  is  not  fitted  perfectly  to  point 
of  contact  of  rolls  a  portion  of  the  stock  will  leak  or  float  over  the 


enos,  especially  on  the.  last  two  or  three  middlings  reductions,  missing 
one  reduction  and  proportionately  loading  the  next.  This  keeps  on 
to  the  end,  which  means  inevitably  a  poor  yield. 


66 


THE    BCMDK    OF    WRINKLES 


To  make  the  self-adjusting  end-piece,  take  a  soft  pine  board 
3^2-inch  or  5^-inch  thick  and  lay  out  two  circles,  the  size  of  the  rolls 
for  which  the  end-piece  is  intended;  saw  out  end-piece  with  the  grain 
of  the  wood  running  to  the  points  of  contact  of  circles,  and  scrape 
it  down  with  glass  until  it  fits  perfectly.  Cut  a  strip  of  copper  the 
thickness  of  hoop  iron,  8  or  10  inches  long  and  1^  inches  wide.  Drill 
a  hole  through  one  end  of  this  strip  and  screw  it  to  the  end-piece. 
Drop  the  copper  strip  over  the  end  of  rolls  and  your  trouble  with 
leaky  rolls  will  be  a  thing  of  the  past. 


PREVENTING  WASTE  AT  ROLL  ENDS 

The  device  illustrated  by  the  accompanying  drawing  is   to  keep 
soft  stock  from  working  over  the  ends  of  smooth  rolls. 

As  indicated,  A  is  a  piece  of  leather  cut  to  fit  between  the  rolls ; 


cJB 


<D 


a 


B  is  a  piece  of  galvanized  iron  to  which  A  is  fastened ;  C  is  the  hole  in 
which  cord  or  wire,  D,  is  fastened,  suspending  weight,  E. 

A  light  weight  is  all  that  is  required.  It  will  hold  the  leather 
close  to  the  rolls  until  it  is  all  worn  out.  Slip  the  galvanized  iron  back 
between  the  ends  of  rolls  and  housing,  allow  the  leather  to  rest  on 
th^  rolls  and  tie  on  the  weight. 


THE   BOOK   OF    WRINKLES 


(n 


FEEDING  ON  THE  FAST  ROLL 

Feed  rolls  usually  direct  the   stock  onto  the  outer  roll,  whether 
It  be  the  fast  or  slow  one.     You  will  get  much  better  results  if  you 


always  guide  the  feed  onto  the  fast  roll.    The*accompanying  illustra- 
tion shows  how  to  do  this  when  the  slow  roll  is  receiving  the  feed. 


TRAMMING  ATTACHMENT 

The,  attachment  shown  in  the  illustration  consists  of  a  steel  bar 
about  a  quarter  of  an  inch  thick  pivoted  and  fitted  to  one  end  of  an 
ordinary  stiff  tram,  whereby  the  miller  is  enabled  to  tram  his  rolls 
while  in  motion.  In  the  sketch,  a  shows  the  steel  bar  pivoted  to  one 
end  of  tram ;  h  is  the  pivot ;  c  point  on  tram  where  dressed  surface 
should  be  filed  away,  allowing  the  steel  bar  to  take  its  place  at  tliat 
bearing;  d  d  are  hinges  to  hold  tram  in  position. 

After  you  liave  pivoted  and  dressed  it  so  as  to  have  both  top 
and  bottom  flush  with  the  dressed  surface  of  end  of  tram  to  which 
you  attach  it,  remove  the  bar  or  lever  and  file  away  that  portion  of 
the  tram  bearing  on  the  back  roll  next  to  pivot.  For  a  pivot  use  a 
small  thumbscrew,  which  will  enable  you  to  give  the  bar  sufficient 
play  to  permit  of  a   free  up-and-down  motion.     Take  a  small  pair 


68 


THE   BOOK   OF    WRINKLES 


of  butt  and  strap  hinges  and  fasten  them  so  you  can  push  them  down 
between  the  rolls  to  hold  the  tram  in  position  while  in  use. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  with  the  use  of  this  lever  attachment  the 
amount  your  rolls  are  found  to  be  out  is  exaggerated  by  length  .of 

«  3 


lever.  When  the  rolls  are  perfectly  parallel,  the  bar  and  dressed 
portion  of  tram  present  a  smooth  surface ;  but  when  the  least  bit  out. 
it  will  cause  the  end  of  lever  to  raise  or  lower,  as  the  case  may  be. 
and  the  imperfection  can  be  easily  detected  by  passing  the  finger  over 
the  two  surfaces. 


ROLL  SCRAPER 

The  accompanying  sketch  shows  a  roll  scraper  for  smooth  rolls. 
It  is  made  of  common  baling  iron  (the  kind  sacks  are  tied  up  with) 


vs/ 


TnT- 


both  for  the  scraper  and  the  spring.    Fig.  1  shows  the  scraper  complete. 
Fig.  2  shows  how  the  scraper  iron  is  set  in  the  wood  by  sawing  a  slot 


THE    BOOK   OF    WRINKLES 


69 


leiigtliwise  in  the  wooden  strip  deep  enough  to  let  in  about  two-tliirds 
of  the  iron  scraper. 


DEVICE  FOR  LIFTING  ROLLS 

The  sketch  shows  a  simple  device  to  assist  in  taking  rolls  from 
their  frames.    It  consists  of  a  bar  of  steel  of  adequate  strength  in  the 


shape  shown  in  the  accompanying  cut.  At  each  end  of  the  bar  are 
large  pointed  set  screws  used  to  screw  into  the  ends  of  the  rolls  in 
lifting.    The  chain  lift  is  hooked  into  the  eye  at  the  top  of  the  bar. 


IMPROVISED  ROLL  CLEANER 

The  accompanying  wrinkle  is  not  intended  to  take  the  place  of 
a  scraper  or  a  brush,  but  millers  occasionally  find  thenfselves  in  a  posi- 


tion where  temporarily,  at  least,  some  sort  of  a  makeshift  must  be 
resorted  to,  especially  if  the  regular  roll  brushes  are  worn. 

In  the  sketch,  a  shows  an  oblong  piece  of  wood  covered  with 
cloth ;  hh  are  the  smooth  rolls ;  c  is  the  lever  to  hold  the  improvised 
brush,  and  d,  the  regular  roll  brushes.  The  oblong  piece  of  wood,  a, 
extends  the  length  of  the  roll  and  is  covered  nicely  with  an  old  flour 
sack.    The  sack  will  not  burn  or  wear  out  in  a  day  or  two,  but  will 


70 


THE   BOOK   OF    WRINKLES 


last  for  a  month  or  more,  and  as  three  sides  can  be  used,  it  will  wear 
quite  a  long  time. 


ROLL  REMOVER 

The    following   sketch   shows   a   simple   roll   remover   that   needs 
little,  explanation.     In  the  sketch,  A  shows  the  roll ;  B,  canvas  bag ; 


C,  the  tackle  blocks;  D,  joist  above  rolls;  E,  rope  in  tackle  block;  a 
clamps  for  canvas  bag,  and  c,  thumb  screws  with  nuts. 

In  operation,  simply  open  the  rolls  a  little  and  pass  one  end  of 
canvas  down  between  rolls  and  up  between  clamps.  The  clamps 
should  be  made  of  as  light  bar  iron  as  possible  consistent  with  strength. 
Fasten  with  thumbscrews  and  nuts  as  shown  in  sketch. 

There  is  no  danger  of  injuring  the  corrugations  of  a  break  or 
scratch  roll  when  taking  out  or  replacing  them  with  this  appliance. 


THE   BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


71 


GOOD  SUBSTITUTE  FOR  ROLL  SCRAPER 

The  accompanying  illustration  shows  a  substitute  for  a  roll  scraper 
which  has  produced  good  results  in  practical  operation.     The   idea 


ff^oHT 


will  be  apparent  from  the  illustration,  which  needs  no  further  ex- 
planation. 


CHAPTER  X 

SIFTERS 


DOUGH  BALLS  IN  SIFTERS 

Those  who  have  trouble  with  dough  balls  choking  up  the  clean- 
ing circulation  on  their  sifters  will  find  their  labor  and  annoyance 
lessened  by  adopting  the  device  figured  in  the  annexed  sketch.     Wire 


of  about  half-inch  mesh  is  placed  on  the  under  side  of  the  opening 
through  which  the  material  enters  the  machine.  The  stockings  should 
be  loosened  occasionally  and  all  dough  balls  removed.  If  they  are 
allowed  to  accumulate  too  much  they  will  stop  up  the  wire  and  cause 
material  to  back  up. 


KEEPING  SIEVE  SPOUTS  CLEAR 

In  the  accompanying  sketch,  A  represents  a  sieve  box ;  B,  the 
tin  spout  used  to  connect  stocking.  E  is  the  cloth  stocking  connecting 
B  io  C.  D  is  the  discharge  spout.  Very  often  it  is  necessary  to  run 
spouts  as  shown  in  sketch  where  machines  are  set  two  or  more  high ; 
and  when  so  constructed  very  often  continued  trouble  results. 

Make  a  perforation  in  center  of  each  side  of  spout  B,  large  enough 
for  a  No.  8  wire.  Then  make  a  loop  in  a  piece  of  No.  8  wire,  same 
being  long  enough  to  pass  through  spout  B,  and  extend  one-half  to 


THE   B(X)K   OF    WRINKLES 


73 


one-quarter   of   an   inch   on   each    side,   then   shp  both   ends   through 

the  perforations  and  bend  the  extended  ends  in  opposite  directions. 

Attach  the  desired  length  of  abotit  No.   14  brass   jack  chain  on 


loop   /-/,   dropping  through   stocking  spout   into   wood   spout  below.\ 
Then  secure  stocking  over  wire  /-/,  and  spout  at  B,  B,     The  results 
will  be  satisfactory. 


SIFTER  IMPROVEMENT 

In  sifter  bolting,  the  light  stock  floats  to  the  top,  and  in  some 
cases  remains  on  top.  In  the  illustration  shown  herewith  the  left 
hand  figure  illustrates  how  stock  will  form  a  ridge  on  a  sifter  sieve. 


This  ridge  will  shift  from  side  to  side  just  about  three  inches, 
or  as  much  as  the  machine  has  throw,  but  remains  intact.  A  small 
handful  of  flour  on  this  ridge  at  the  upper  end  will  follow  the  ridge 


74 


THE   BOOK   OF    WRINKLES 


down  and  tail  over  to  the  purifier.  To  remedy  this  put  in  a  dividing 
strip,  as  shown  in  the  right  hand  figure.  This  will  break  up  the  ridge 
and  make  the  work  far  better.  With  this  device  put  the  cloth  cleaners 
underneath  the  silk. 


TIN  STUB  SPOUTS 

If  you  have  trouble  with  cloth  spouts  wearing  out  on  break  stock, 
have  some  tin  stubs  made  after  the  plan  shown  in  the  sketch,  to  take 


the  place  of  the  sifter  spouts.  Being  made  hopper-shaped,  the  spout 
carries  stock  away  from  cloth  spout,  and  it  drops  down  the  center 
without  touching  the  cloth,  thus  making  a  great  saving  on  same. 


FEEDER  FOR  A  SWING  SIFTER 

The  usual  four-section  swing  sifter  is  fed  by  four  stockings,  the 
spouts  being  valved  four  times,  and  it  is  often  impossible  to  keep  the 
stream  evenly  divided  to  each  section.  The  feeder  shown  herewith 
was .  devised  to  overcome  the  difficulty,  and  has  proved  a  complete 
success. 

The  feeder  consists  of  a  square  box,  2,  with  openings  in  each  corner, 
C,  D,  E  and  F,  to  feed  each  section  of  the  machine,  as  indicated 
at  6  in  the  side  view.  Then  there  is  the  larger  opening,  G,  in  the 
center  of  the  box  where  the  main  stream  enters.  The  box  is  partitioned 
crosswise  and  lengthwise,  the  two  partitions  crossing  at  the  center  of 
the  main  opening,  and  brought  to  a  knife  edge  at  that  point,  so  as  to 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


75 


split  the  stream  sharply,  as  indicated  at  7.  Directly  over  this  crossed 
partition  is  placed  a  stationary  funnel,  5,  which  concentrates  the  stream 
into  the  smallest  possible  compass,  and  as  the  machine  makes  its  circuit 
each  of  the  four  sections  receives  the  whole  stream. 

It  is  impossible  to  have   anything  but   a  perfect   division  of  the 


TOP   Y/£W 


F^ 


o^^ 


stream  with  this  device,  and  it  furthermore  requires  but  one  stock- 
ing, J,  in  place  of  the  four  usually  used,  which  is  quite  an  item  in 
itself. 


TROUBLE  WITH  FLAT  SPOUT 

A  good  remedy  for  a  flat  spout  that  causes  trouble  is  to  take  a 
light  jack  or  sifter  cloth  chain  and  pass  the  chain  up  through  the 
stocking  about  half  the  length  of  the  stocking,  pinning  through  from 
the  outside  with  a  safety  pin.     This  allows  the  chain  to  hang  down 


Pin  H^R^ 


Cti/\fH 


rLf\T 
SPOUT 


the  spout  about  12  inches.    The  motion  of  the  sifter  agitates  the  chain, 
giving  an  up-and-down  and  a  side  motion  to  it. 


76 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


'  SETTING  UP  THE  SIFTER 

The  following  shows  a  good  way  to  set  up  a  sifter.  Take  four 
long  bolts,  each  of  them  having  one,  end  threaded  for  about  two  feet. 
But  two  of  these  bolts  are  indicated  in  the  diagram  at  C,  but  they  are 
sufficient  for  a  clear  understanding,  of  the  method  employed.  Next 
place  a  2x6  plank  B,  across  the  hanger  timbers  A  A,  and  bore  holes 
in  the  plank  for  the  bolts  as  indicated. 

Then  put  one  bolt  in  each  of  the  reed  holders  on  the  sieve  boxes 
D  D,  v/ith  the  threaded  end  up.     This  threaded  end  is  run  through 


B 


9 


'm 


the  hole  in  the  plank  and  the  nut  screwed  on  above.  It  is  now  possible 
to  raise  the  sifter  boxes  as  high  as  necessary,  and  at  the  same  time 
keep  them  level  throughout  the  operation.  When  they  are  high  enough 
to  connect  up  with  the  shaft  they  are  held  by  this  arrangement  without 
danger  of  falling.  When  the  setting  up  is  finished  the  bolts  can  be 
taken  out  of  the  holders  and  the  reeds  put  in. 


CHAPTER  XI 

FEEDING 


FEED  REbULATOR  FOR  SCOURERS 

In  cases  where  the  receiving  separator  is  of  small  size  and  screens 
with  large  openings  have  been  put  in  to  increase  capacity  to  take  care 
of  a  sudden  rush,  there  is  generally  trouble  in  getting  an  even  feed. 


As  a  result  short  straws  and  sticks  pass  through  the  receiving  separator 
and  clog  up  the  opening  in  the  scourers,  which  cannot  be  very  large 
on  machines  of  small  capacity.  Invest  5  cents  in  a  tin  funnel,  knock 
the  spout  end  off,  ream  out  the  hole  in  the  slide  to  the  full  capacity 
ot  tne  maclimes,  open  up  the  feed  regulators  on  the  scourers,  and 
troubles  with  them  will  be  over.  The  cut  shows  the  manner  of  using 
the  funnel  in  the  spout. 


78 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 

A  PORTABLE  FEEDER 


This  little  device  is  for  feeding  in  stock  after  a  choke-up.  It  may 
be  attached  to  almost  any  slant  of  spout,  elevator  or  conveyor.  The 
hopper  may  be  detached  and  used  to  carry  with.  In  the  sketch  Fig.  1 
is  the  hopper ;  2  is  the  spout  to  go  into  hand  hole  or  turned  half  around 


for  elevator ;  3  is  bar  to  hold  it  in  position  by  the  use  of  thumbscrew : 
4  is  slide,  used  as  bottom  for  hopper  and  to  regulate  feed.  Part  1 
should  be  used  only  for  conveyors.  It  sets  inside  and  may  first  be  filled, 
which  saves  much  work. 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES  79 

FEED  ROLL  FOR  SMALL  GRAIN 

The  accompanying  drawing  illustrates  a  feed  roll  for  small  grain 
in  the  rough  from  bins  to  conveyor  or  elevator. 

The  spout  or  trunk  is  indicated  by  A,  and  may  be  of  any  size; 
B  is  3.  6-inch  roll,  with  drive,  corrugated  1  inch  by  1  inch  deep,  solid 
ends,  so  that  grain  and  rubbish  cannot  work  past  ends  of  roll.     C  is  a 


o    o    o 

J3 


J 

\ 

•  I 

^  / 

/  c 

/'"' 

Jm 

=^y 

i  \ii 

11 

■zizi 

1  ^ 

1/ 

CL       1  / 

30  f]£V. 


2-inch  strip,  or  cantboard,  on  bottom  of  trunk  to  prevent  bottom  of  roll 
being  submerged  in  grain.  D  is  the-  cutK)ff,  or  slide,  in  main  trunk 
12  inches  above  the  roll. 

One  or  a  dozen  feeds  can  be  arranged  from  one  drive,  provided 
trunks  are  in  line,  and  as  many  different  kinds  of  grain  can  be  mixed. 
The  speed  of  the  roll  should  be  such  as  will  give  the  desired  flow  of 
wheat  or  grain  with  the  gate  raised  on  a  level  with  the  roll.  This 
gives  a  large  volume  of  grain  for  the  roll  to  work  on  and  anything 
that  will  pass  under  the  gate  will  feed  over  the  roll  nicely. 

In  building  new  spouting  or  trunks  for  this  purpose  one  can  arrange 
a  set-off  in  bottom  of  spout  and  do  away  with  the  cantboard,  C.  This 
arrangement  can  be  put  in  any  kind  of  a  spout  provided  one  can 
get  a  drive  to  it.  Then  belt  up,  raise  the  gate  and  the.  roll  will  do 
the  rest. 


80 


THE   BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


FEEDER  FOR  EVEN  SPREADING 

The  accompanying  sketch  shows  a  feeder  for  rolls  or  anything 
that  requires  an  even  spreading  of  feed.  Feeders  of  this  type  in  con- 
nection with  roll  feeders  will  work  well,  especially  on  coarse  stock. 

The  body  of  the  feeder  is  substantially  similar  to  a  lady's  folding 
fan.  It  can  be  made  from  light  tin,  wood  or  anything  that  can  be  bent 
or  made  to  take  the  proper  form.     It  can  be  made  curved  at  top  or 


the  strip  made  longer  and  turned  to  suit  the  feed.  It  is  adjustable  to 
almost  all  conditions  that  require  a  feeder.  The  corrugations  can  be 
increased  in  number  until  the  spray  of  feed  going  to  the  roll  is  very 
fine  and  thin. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  cut  that  the  longer  the  roll,  the  larger 
the  feeder  will  have  to  be.  In  the  cut,  7  is  a  strip,  one  by  half  an 
inch,  to  which  the  feeder  is  attached  and  which  must  be  as  long  as 
the  roll  or  as  the  hopper  is  wide.  The  figure  2  is  the  slot  for  the 
screw,  J,  which  works  in  the  slot  and  by  which  it  is  attached.  The 
slots  permit,  of  an  adjustment  either  from  one  side  or  another  by 
the  screws. 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


81 


FEEDING  WHEAT  TO  FIRST  BREAK 

The  accompanying  sketch  shows  a  cheap  and  simple  device  for 
feeding  wheat  into  first  break  rolls  in  small  mills.  This  device  will 
feed  clean  wheat  just  as  steadily  and  accurately  as  the  sand  will  run 
through  an  hour  glass. 


The  device  consists  of  two  sheet-iron  slides,  placed  in  a  wood 
spout  directly  above  the  first  break  roll.  The  bottom  slide  has  a  round 
hole,  sufficiently  large  to  admit  the  desired  amount  of  wheat.  The 
top  slide,  indicated  by  dotted  lines,  is  placed  directly  on  top  of  the 
other,  and  is  used  for  a  shut-off. 

A  1-inch  round  hole  in  sheet  iron  will  feed  clean  wheat  for  a 
50-barrel  mill. 


CHAPTER  XII 

SACKS  • 


STRING  MEASURER 

The  sketch  is  for  a  measuring  board  which  can  be  made  of  any 
soft  wood,  of  any  breadth  desired,  and  long  enough  to  measure  the 


TOP  TO   HANG    UP 


/¥0 


fS 


^9 


il£ 


,# 


x!>^<^ 


/p/4^ 


7^ 


^LENGTH     or 
aiWiriG    QTFilHO 


^-^    LFHGTH    or 
STP,)NC    TO   TIE 


Borrom 

longest  string  used  about  a  mill.  One  can  measure  from  top  or  bottom 
end,  as  desired.  The*length  of  string  can  be  measured,  as  you  are 
accustomed  to  using  a  certain  length,  and  marked  on  board  in  plain 
figures,  as  the  drawing  will  show  without  any  further  explanation. 
This  should  be  kept  hung  up  near  a  reel  of  twine  and  then  there  won't 
be  any  guesswork  in  cutting  your  next  string. 


TIIK   r?OOK    OF    WRINKLES 


83 


TO  HOLD  SACKS  WHILE  SEWING 

The  illustration  shows  a  handy  holder  to  use  when  sewing  sacks 
or  bags.    It  consists  of  a  table,  B,  with  an  upright  round  iron  fastened 


to  it  as  shown.  There  is  the  hook,  C,  in  sliding  collar  for  long  and 
short  sacks,  with  set  screw  made  with  lever,  A,  to  hold  it  in  place. 
Just  hook  the  sack  onto  C  and  it  will  be  steadied  while  you  sew  it. 


FILE  FOR  SECOND  HAND  PAPER  SACKS 

Every  mill  has  use  for  second  hand  paper  sacks,  particularly  one 
which  has  a  large  country  custom  trade  and  sells  quantities  of  all  kincjs 


^^G.  /  r/G.2 

of  feed  and  chicken  feed.  It  will  be  found  very  convenient  to  make 
a  simple  file  or  spindle  for  holding  such  bags.  A  piece  of  board  ten 
by  six  inches  and  %  of  an  inch  thick  is  taken  and  three  holes  bored 


84 


Tllfi   1300 k   OF   WklNKLES 


with  a  gimlet,  as  shown  in  Figure  1.  In  the  center  hole  is  inserted  a 
large  spike  nail  which  had  been  filed  to  a  sharp  point.  Then  the  two 
other  holes  are  used  to  screw  the  board  to  an  elevator  leg,  or  any  place 
where  the  file  will  be  handv  for  the  miller. 


BAG  HOLDER  FOR  SPOUTS 

The  accompanying  sketch  shows  a  very  convenient  bag  holder  for 
spouts.     Cleats  are  put  on  lower  end  of  spout  as  shown  in  Fig.  1. 


r/oj 


The  cleat  on  frqnt  side  has  an  oblong  hole  with  notch  cut  in.  When 
the  bag  is  put  on  and  drawn  around  the  spout  above  the  cleats  and 
down  through  the  notch  it  is  firmly  held  in  place  with  a  tapering  pin 
as  shown  in  Fig.  2,  and  v£ry  readily  detached. 


SACK  HOLDER 

This  very  simple  contrivance  will  frequently  prove  of  practical 
benefit  in  the  mill.  With  this  sack  holder  in  action  one  man  can  load 
np  sacks  by  himself.  A  piece  of  iron  or  steel  is  bent  as  shown  with 
two  upright  legs,  B,  B,  prongs,  either  made  or  attached  at  E,  E,  and 
a  half  circle  A,  at  the  top. 

Two  pieces  of  gas  pipe,  C,  C,  are  fastened  in  a  two-inch  board, 


THE    HOOK   OF    WRINKLES 


85 


r.    Then  BB  can  be  raised  and  lowered  in  CC,  being  held  in  place  by 
tlie  set  screws,  D,  D.    To  operate,  the  top  of  the  sack  is  doubled  over 


circle  .  /,  fastened  to  the  prongs  EE,  and  the  whole  adjusted  by  means 
of  the  set  screws  to  the  proper  height. 


MILLERS'  HANDY  KNIFE 

A  knife  similar  to  the  one  shown  in  sketch,  placed  on  the  platform 
scales,  is  very  convenient  when  tying  grain  bags.    The  twine  can  either 


be  placed  above  the  knife  or  threaded  through  small  staples  to  keep 
the  end  from  falling:  down. 


86 


tHE   BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


HANDY  SACK  KNIFE 

Herewith'  is  presented  a  novel  idea  in  the  shape  of  a  handy  sack 
knife.  It  only  requires  a  piece  of  stiff  tin  and  an  old  penknife  blade 
to  make  it. 

Take  the  tin  and  cut  in  shape  as  shown  in  sketch,  to  which  solder 
the  blade  in  position  shown.  Then  bend  the  tin  to  fit  the  thumb. 
The  knife  is  then  in  position  for  action,  leaving'  both  hands  free  to 
handle  and  crimp  the  paper  or  cotton  sack  as  the  case  may  be. 

After  you  have  passed  the  twine  around  the  sack,  using  the  mil- 


ler's knot  or  tie,  grasp  the  top  of  the  sack  with  right  hand.  Then  draw 
the  twine  as  tight  as  you  wish.  Then  raise  the  left  hand,  which 
throws  the  twine  against  the  knife  and  the  trick  is  done.  After  once 
becoming  used  to  it  you  can  tie  sacks  very  rapidly  and  would  not  be 
without  it. 


SACK  PRESS 

A  handy  bag  or  sack  press  is  shown  in  the  accompanying  drawing. 
It  consists  of  a  bench  or  table  which  should  be  fastened  to  the  floor. 
This  bench  should  have  a  back  about  as  high  as  a  sack  of  flour  is  thick 
when  compressed.  One  end  of  a  lid  or  pressing  board  is  hinged  to  the 
back  board. 


THE   ROOK   OF    WRINKLES 


87 


In  using  this  presser  a  bag  of  flour  is  placed  on  the  bench  in  any 
position  desired,  the  Hd  lowered  and  the  desired  pressure  given.     This 


home-made  press  makes  a  sack  of  flour  look  very  much  better  and  adds 
to  the  appearance  when  piled  up. 


TYING  THE  SACKS 

The  annexed  sketch  will  explain  a  convenience  in  tying  sacks.     It 
shows  a  scale  such  as  is  used  for  balancing  when  flour  is  put  up  in 


quarter  and  eighth  paper  sacks.  The  wrinkle  is  the  twine  box  marked 
a.  Three  balls  of  four-ply  jute  twine  are  tied  together  and  put 
into  the  box,  which  is  screwed  upon  the  post  of  the  scale  so  that  it  is 


^ 


THE   BOOK   Oi^    WRINKLES 


under  the  beam.  The  end  of  the  twine  comes  out  at  the  back  of  the 
box  and  is  guided  by  screw  eyes  so  that  the  twine  hangs  on  the  left- 
hand  side,  standing  in  front  of  the  scale.  There  is  always  twine  with 
the  scale,  wherever  the  latter  may  be.  Tie  the  sacks  before  the  twine 
is  cut.  / 


SPOOL  AND  TWINE  FOR  TYING  SACKS 

The  device  shown  in  the  accompanying  sketch  has  the  peculiarity 
both  of  economy  and  speed ;  the  spool,  which  contains  the  string,  is 
also  the  handle  of  the  knife  and  the  string  being  wound  around  it, 


makes  a  leverage  on  the  string  so  that  when  the  knot  is  tied  it  will 
not  slip  off.     Neither  will  the  flour  leak  out. 

In  cutting  the  string,  you  can  cut  it  close  to  sack  and  save  string. 
In  winding  the  spool,  there  is  a  handle  to  slip  it  into  and  hold  it 
against  the  belt  that  drives  the  packer  and  winds  it  like  the  bobbin  on 
a  sewing  machine. 


HANDY  BAG  TURNER 

This  contrivance  consists  of  two  strips  about  2}ixj4.  inches  and 
about  five  feet  long  mortised  into  each  other  at  a.  A  third  leg  runs 
down  from  a  and  two  braces  are  attached  near  the  bottom.  To  hold 
the  device  firm  a  weight  can  be  laid  across  the  braces  or  the  legs 
themselves  fastened  to  the  floor. 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


89 


The  bag  is  held  in  front  of  the  contrivance,  open  end  up,  with 
one  hand  on  each  side  of  the  top.  One  side  of  the  bag  is  turned  over 
the  top  points  of  the  turner,  pulled  down,  and  the  bag  is  turned.  With 
five  minutes'  practice  a  person  can  easily  turn  bags  twice  as  fast  as 


by  hand.  One  thing  is  essential.  The  top  points  of  the  turner  must 
be  the  proper  distance  ai)art  so  that  the  bags  strip  over  easily,  and 
the  corners  will  turn  out. 


COMBINATION  SACK  NEEDLE  AND   TWINE  CUTTER 

This  will  be  found  to  be  the  handiest  tool  in  the  mill,  as  it  saves 


more  time  than  anything  else  about  the  premises.     Simply   sharpen 
one  side  of  the  needle  near  the  point.     This  cuts  the  twine. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

FILLING  AND  PACKING 


SACKING  SPOUT 

The  accompanying  sketch  shows  a  sacking  spout,  which  has  an 
attachment  that  is  easy  to  make  and  needs  no  explanation. 


STATION/^RY     SPOUT 


SL£EV£  ^AUTOMATICALLY 
A  JUSTED    BY  SPRINGS 


ruoo^ 


^."DOOR  SP/^/NQ 


CUTOFF 


The  advantages  are:  (1)  The  sack  swings  clear  until  several 
pounds  of  material  have  run  in,  causing  the  sack  to  fill  nicely.  (2) 
When  the  operator  pulls  down  the  movable  spout  slightly,  the  sack 
releases  without  .tearing.     Common  hooks  may  be  used  to  hold  the 


THE    BOOK   OF   WRINKLES 


91 


sack.     Use  two  to  four  springs,  depeading  on  the  size  of  spout,  each 
from  15  to  18  inches  long. 


BRAN  PACKER  ALARM 

The    sketch    below    is    self-explanatory.      Letter   a    shows    a   bell 
and  letter  b  a  set  screw  in  friction  clutch.     When  the  packer  is  in 


operation  the  bell  is  quiet.  When  the  bran  bag  is  full,  the  clutch  is 
disengaged,  allowing  the  projection  b  to  engage  the  bell,  thereby 
warning  the  operator  that  the  bag  is  full.  As  bran  packs  slowly,  the 
operator  may  attend  to  other  work  until  the  automatic  alarm  tells  him 
that  the  packer  requires  attention. 


ATTACHMENT  FOR  PACKER  TUBE 

The  device  shown  herewith  is  an  attachment  for  a  packer  tube  so 
that  different-sized  sacks  can  be  filled  without  changing  tubes.  It  is. 
simple  to  make,  is  easily  and  quickly  changed  and  costs  only  a  trifle. 

To  make  the  attachment  take  a  piece  of  good  sound  plank  IJ/2  or 


92 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


2  inches  thick  and  14  inches  square ;  with  a  pair  of  dividers  draw  a 
circle  in  center  of  plank,  the  size  of  the  lower  end  of  packer  tube; 
draw  another  1>^  inches  larger  than  the  first  one  and  saw  out  as 
marked.    Take  the  piece  to  a  blacksmith  and  have  him  put  on  a  band 


QOLL/IR 


of  ^xi^^-inch  iron,  to  prevent  splitting.  Have  the  band  placed  even 
with  the  lower  side  and  round  off  the  upper  edge.  Drill  three  ^-^-inch 
holes  through  band  and  wood  equal  distances  apart,  placing  2-inch 
buggy  tire  bolts  through  these  holes. 

Now  you  have  a  neat  collar  to  fit  your  48-inch  packer  tube.  Drill 
three  holes  through  bottom  of  tube,  to  match  holes  in  collar;  slip 
collar  over  tube  and  fasten  with  nuts  on  the  inside,  after  which  you 
^re  ready  for  business, 


THE   BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


93 


For  packing  different  sizes  of  sacks  different-sized  collars  can  be 
used;  for  100-pound  sacks  a  13-inch  collar,  and  for  140-pound  sacks 
a  14-inch  collar,  outside  diameter. 


IMPROVED  METHOD  OF  KEEPING  TALLY 

The  cut  shows  a  counter  operated  by  lever  of  packer.    The  lever 
is  shown  to  the  right  and  a  wire  runs  to  counter  to  operate  it.     This 


OZ-YS-j    4-.....„ 


N 


is  an  improvement  over  the  platform  operating  counter,  because  it 
cannot  be  operated  while  the  mill  is  idle,  or  any  errors  be  made  by 
operator.     It  is  automatic  and  absolutely  correct. 

By  the  use  of  this  method  of   keeping  tally  on   flour   and   feed 
packers,  the  miller  can  render  report  of  yield  every  24  hours,  or  as 


^4  ^  THE   BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 

often  as  desired.  Suppose  the  counter  reads  02451,  as  shown  in  the 
cut.  The  packer  takes  the  figures  off  counter  on  changing  size  of 
package,-  as  follows : 

02451  Barrels. 

Packing  eights   (paper)    03201  =  /50  =    93^ 

Packing  quarters   (paper)    ■ 03605  =  404  =  101 

Packing  barrels  (wood)  03802  =  197  =^  197 


391^ 

This  would  amount  to  ^6,7%2i  pounds.  Looking  at  the  feed  pack- 
ers, we  find,  say,  25,806  pounds  bran  and  shorts.  This  makes  a  total 
of  102,589  pounds  output,  or  a  yield  of  about  4 :30. 


FLOUR  PACKER  ATTACHMENT 

The  sketch   shows   a  method   for  throwing  flour  packer  in  gear 
which  will  enable  one  to  pack  from  15  to  20  more  sacks  per  hour 


JCol. 


-^^ 


than  can  be  done  by  throwing  the  machine  by  hand.  Put  a  small 
pulley  on  the  lower  part  of  the  packer  leg  and  run  a  whang  leather 
cord  through  the  pulley  and  fasten  to  the  chair,  so  that  when  the  chair 
goes  up  it  pulls  the  machine  in  gear. 

In  Fig.  1  is  shown  the  chair  down;  in  Fig.  2  the  chair  is  up  and 
the  packer  iS|  in  gear.  This  can  be  attached  to  any  packer  and  will 
save  the  operator  a  great  many  moves,  as  all 'he  has  to  do  is  to  put 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


95 


the  sacks  on  the  jmcker,  when  the  machine  needs  no  further  attention 
until  the  sack  is  ready  to  be  weighed. 


SACK  RAMMER 

The  sketch  shows  a  device  for  pressing  sacks  tight  and  full,  to 
hold  more  feed  or  flour  than  if  filled  by  hand.  It  is  made  tapering, 
with  shoulders  turned  in.     Neither  its  construction  nor  way  of  oper- 


\ 


I 


-^ 


ating   requires   any   explanation    further   than   that    supplied   by    the 
sketch. 


CONVENIENT  SPOUT  FOR  SACKING  MEAL 

A  convenient  spout  for  sacking  corn  meal,  chop,  screenings,  buck- 
wheat flour,  or  any  coarse  material,  and  one  which,  when  properly 
constructed,  is  quite  accurate,  may  be  made  as  follows : 

Any  ordinary   spout  may  be   used.     Find   required  measurement 


96 


THE   BOOK   OF    WRINKLES 


of  material  which  is  to  be  sacked,  at  weight  desired.  Allow  an  equal 
cubic  space  between  upper  and  lower  slides,  same  to  be  pivoted  in 
center,  so  that  when  either  slide  is  closed  the  other  will  not  leave  slot 


in  spout.     By  placing  handle  at  a  point  midway,  it  will  be  seen  that 
both  slides  will  be  open. 


SPECIAL  SLIDE  FOR  RAPID  SACKING 

This  slide  can  be  used  on  a  bin  or  large  spout  and  is  a  great  help 
in  the  rapid  handling  of  bran,  shorts,  rolled  barley  or  any  other  light 
material.  The  slide,  shown  in  the  accompanying  sketch,  is  placed  in 
the  bin  or  spout  at  a  height  such  that  the  attached  sack  will  hang 
clear  of  the  floor.  The  sUde  can  be  made  of  galvanized  iron,  or, 
if  desired,  a  light  casting,  with  guides  for  it  to  run  in,  might  be 
procured. 

Extending  downwards  from  the  circular  hole  at  one  side  of  the 
slide  is  a  flange  about  3  inches  deep.     The  circular  opening  should 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


97 


measure  about   12   inches   across.     No   hooks   are   necessary   on  this 
flange ;  a  firm  hold  is  all  that  is  required  to  keep  the  sack  in  place. 

To  operate,  hang  sack  about  flange,  grasp  firmly  with  the  right 
hand  and  push  slide  in  with  both  hands,  bringing  the  hole  in  the  slide 


rioOF 


directly  under  the  bin  outlet.  When  the  sack  is  full  pull  back  the 
slide  and  the  solid  half  of  it  comes  under  the  opening  and  shuts  oft 
the  stream. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

TRUCKS  AND  SCALES 


FOUR-WHEELED  HAND  TRUCK 

Every  mill  and  warehouse  has  a  hand  truck  of  some  make  and 
also  mill  or  warehouse  trucks,  and  mills  having  a  wholesale  as  well 
as  retail  trade  frequently  find  themselves  short  of  a  truck  when  some 
grocer  calls  at  the  mill  for  a  barrel  of  flour.    The  mill  truck  is  loaded, 


: 


and  if  the  order  is  placed  on  an  ordinary  hand  truck  the  paper  sacks 
are  liable  to  slip  off  and  become  torn. 

The  ordinary  hand  truck  can  be  converted  into  a  mill  truck  by 
placing  another  set  of  wheels  near  the  handle,  as  shown  in  the  sketch. 
This  will  give  one  a  handy  light  mill  truck  and  makes  a  combination 
for  handling  the  retail  as  well  as  the  wholesale  trade. 


TO  INSURE  CORRECT  MILL  WEIGHTS 

To  avoid  mistakes  in  setting  scales,  and  to  prevent  moving  of  the 
poise  after  being  set,  the  accompanying  device  should  be  used. 

First,  place  the  poise  on  beam  at  the  number  of  pounds  you  wish 
to  put  in  the  sacks.  If  for  -jV  barrel,  place  at  12^  pounds,  then 
fasten  so  that  it  will  not  move  while  you  drill  a  j/V-inch  hole  through 


THE   BOOK:   OF    WRINKLES 


99 


the  poise  and  beam.  Then  move  for  j/s-harrel  sacks  to  24)'2  pounds, 
and  drill  through  beam  by  using  the  same  hoie  in  poise.  The  same 
way  for  j4  barrels,  at  49  pounds. 

Then  take  a  small  wire  nail,  that  will  fit  the  hole  and  tie  with 
string  to  poise,  as  shown  in  sketch.  .  Now  move  the  poise  to  0,  and 


balance  scale.  Then  if  you  want  to  pack  out  %  barrels,  just  move  the 
poise  to  the  second  hole  in  beam  and  push  the  nail  through.  You  will 
not  need  to  look  to  see  if  it  is  at  24 3^  pounds  (and  not  23^/2,  as  it  is 
frequently  found)  ^nd  you  may  be  sure  it  will  stay  there.  Then 
for  ^-barrel,  move  to  the  third  hole,  and  for  j^y -barrel,  use  the 
first  hole. 

Having  but  three  holes  in  beam  and  they  so  far  apart,  you  cannot 
make  a  mistake  in  setting  scales.  In  using  the  scales  for  other  weights 
always  let  the  nail  hang  to  the  poise. 


RENUMBERING  SCALES 

Every  mill  contains  a  number  of  scales  and  in  time  the  figures 
become  invisible  by  reason  of  smoke,  dust  and  other  substances  coming 
in  contact  with  same,  also  through  the  action  of  the  atmosphere.    You 


X^J...y.,H||rTTTpTl    jF^ 


"'yj"'3y'^ 


can   always   have   nice  visible  white  figures   on  your   scales   without 
employing  an  expert  painter  to  renumber  them,  simply  by  taking  a 


100 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


piece  of  common  white  chalk  and  rubbing  it  over  the  numbers  on  the 
beam.  You  can  make  your  one-half-pound  marks  bkie  and  the  pound 
marks  white  by  employing  chalk  of  those  colors. 


IMPROVEMENT  ON  MILL  SCALE 

The  sketch  shown  herewith  practically  explains  itself.     It  repre- 
sents a  common  scale  rod  box,  the  'Vrinkle"  applied  to  same  being 


0^ 


r.ijfy<'j> 


BF/\M   f^OD 


BINDING    ROO^ 


I_ 


/ 


shown  as  follows :  Fig.  1  represents  a  12-inch  extension  of  the  beam 
rod  box,  made  same  size  as  the  box  and  fitted  to  the  lower  end.  The 
object  is  to  bring  the  beam  up  to  a  level  with  the  ordinary  person's 
eyes  and  hand  without  stooping.  The  advantage  is  apparent  and  will 
save  many  a  crook  of  the  back. 

To  put  on  this  extension  the  beam  rod  and  binding  rods,  as  noted 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


101 


in  the  sketch  must  of  course  be  lengthened  to  exactly  the  same  length 
as  the  extension.  Any  blacksmith  can  do  this  work  at  a  cost  of  a  few 
cents.  The  extra  weight  of  the  lengthened  beam  rod  can  be  counter- 
balanced with  shot  in  the  shot  receptacle  on  the  pee,  or  by  means  of 
the  regular  balance  ball. 

Fig.  2  represents  an  ordinary  wooden  bracket  shelf,  about  12 
inches  long  and  the  sarne  width  as  the  rod  box,  to  be  fastened  to  it  on 
a  level  with  the  pee,  to  lay  the  loose  weights  on,  instead  of  putting 
them  on  the  rack  usually  provided  for  them.  The  12-inch  length  will 
accommodate  three  or  four  weights  without  piling  one  on  the  other, 
leaving  the  figures  in  plain  sight,  and  the  weights  ordinarily  used 
ready  to  hand. 


ATTACHMENT  FOR  BAG  TRUCK 

The  sketch  shows  a  little  attachment  which  will  be  found  useful 


in  most  mills.  It  is  designed  to  be  placed  on  a  bag  truck  so  that  two 
bags  may  be  carted  at  a  time,  if  desired.  A  yoke  is  attached  to  the 
truck,  made  of  ^^  round  iron  and  is  turned  down  over  the  two  bags 
as  shown  by  the  dotted  lines,  to  clasp  them  together  when  pulling 
the  truck  back.  When  the  yoke  is  not  in  use,  it  can  be  turned  uj) 
out  of  the  way. 


CHAPTER  XV 
SAMPLING  AND  TESTING 


FLOUR  SAMPLER 

The  device  shown  is  a  sampling  tube  which  may  be  attached  to 
any  size  or  shape  of  flour  bin  or  to  an  ordinary  spout.  It  consists 
of  a  metal  tube  pivoted  on  a  block  of  wood  attached  to  the  top  of 
the  bin  or  spout,  and  all  that  is  required  to  adapt  the  device  to  any 


FIGURE    1. 

sized  bin  is  to  make  the  tube  and  wood  stock  longer  and  see  that  the 
oval  slot  is  directly  under  the  flowing  stream  of  flour,  no  matter  from 
what  direction  it  falls  into  the  bin. 

Figure    1    shows   the   sampler  open   and   closed   and   the   wooden 


THE   BOOK   OF    WRINKLES 


103 


block,  or  stock,  on  which  it  is  suspended.  Use  nickel-plated  brass 
tubing  lj4  inches  in  diameter.  The  slot  to  catch  the  flour  is  1x1^ 
inches,  and  the  round  part  of  the  stock  that  extends  down  into  the  sam- 
pling tube  is  beveled  at  the  point  where  it  comes  opposite  the  slot,  as 
indicated  in  the  drawings.  At  the  point  where  the  tube  is  attached  to 
the  wood  stock  there  is  a  slit  extending  half  way  around  the  tube, 
which  is  held  in  place  by,  and  turns  on,  a  round-headed  screw. 

Figure  2  shows  the  sampler  in  place  in  the  flour  bin.  It  will  be 
seen  that  the  oval  slot  comes  directly  below  the  flour  spout.  When  it 
is  desired  to  take  a  sample  of  flour  the  tube  is  turned  until  the  slot 


FIGURE  2. 

is  uppermost,  and  when  the  desired  amount  has  been  secured,  a  turn 
of  the  wrist  closes  the  sampler.  A  piece  of  leather  6  inches  square, 
with  an  oval  hole,  fits  over  the  tube  where  it  comes  out  of  the  bin  and 
makes  the  arrangement  dust  tight. 


FLOUR  SAMPLE  CUPBOARD 

The  drawing  shows  a  flour  sample  wall  cupboard  and  desk  for 
millers  who  run  their  flour  by  sample.  The  cupboard  is  designed  to 
be  fastened  to  the  wall  and  is  made  with  a  drop  door,  so  that  it  can 


104 


THE   BOOK   Ot   WRINKLES 


be  used  as  a  desk,  with  basin  at  side  for  water  and  paddles  or  slicks 
for  sampling  flour.     It  can  be  made  any  size  desired.     It  is  convenient 


to  use  the  top  space  for  sample  sieve  box,  the  six  drawers  for  rioitr 
samples  and  the  bottom  drawer  for  sundries. 


FLOUR  TRIER  AND  MOLD 

Here   is   a  "wrinkle"   consisting   of   a   flour   trier   and   mold   and 
a  testing  board  upon  which  are  five  nicely-molded  bricks  of  flour. 


TEST/NG  BOARD 


Take  a  piece  of  smooth  metal,  say  5  inches  wide  and  4  inches 
long,  and  bend  the  two  long  sides  down  straight  about  1  inch  on  the 
sides.    This  will  make  a  mold  4  inches  long  and  3  inches  wide. 


THE    BOOK   OF    WRINKLES 


105 


Place  a  handful  of  flour  on  the  testing  board  and  press  the  mold 
across  the  flour.  This  will  leave  a  nice,  smooth  brick.  Then  take  the 
mold  and  cut  off  the  ends  of  sample.  Do  the  same  with  other  samples. 
This  will  give  one  samples  of  a  uniform  size  and  of  the  same  solidity 
for  testing  by  the  wetting  test  or  for  comparison  in  the  dry.  The 
operator  can  place  the  bricks  as  close  together  as  he  chooses  and  can 
have  evenly  molded  bricks  of  the  same  length,  width  and  thickness. 


GLUTEN  WASHER 

The  accompanying  illustration  shows  a  device  used  in  washing 
gluten.  A  IS  an  iron  bracket  with  hook  at  outer  end.  B  is  a  small  pail 
large  enough  to  hold  sufficient  water  to  wash  the  amount  of  dough, 


usually  30  grams  of  flour.    C  is  a  faucet  and  D  is  a  pan  to  catch  water 
and  washed-out  starch. 

By  letting  the  water  drop  slowly  on  the  dough  none  of  the  gluten 
will  be  washed  away  as  when  a  steady  stream  is  used.  By  letting  the 
dough  stand  from  30  to  40  minutes  in  water  before  washing  one  is 
able  more  easily  to  wash  out  the  gluten,  and  with  this  device  to  save 
the  starch  by  letting  water  stand  in  pan,  D,  until  starch  settles  to 
bottom.  After  a  little  practice  one  should  be  able  to  wash  out  30 
grams  of  flour  with  one  quart  of  water  or  less. 


TESTING  DISH 

Here  is  a  handy  and  satisfactory  arrangement  of  a  flour  testing 
dish  for  the  miller.    Take  a  slab  of  wood  a  little  thicker  than  the  dish 


106 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


you  intend  to  use,  bore  out  the  center  with  an  extension  bit  such  as  is 
used  in  making  hand  holes  in  spouts  and  insert  the  dish  in  it. 


Then  procure  a  piece  of  ordinary  plate  window  glass  to  serve  as 
a  cover  for  the  dish.  The  glass  will  keep  the  mill  dust  out  and  insure 
cleanliness  in  the  dough,  while  the  block  of  wood  will  relieve  the  dish 
from  the  jar  of  the  mill. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

WATER  POWER 


WATER  ALARM  AND  INDICATOR 

The  accompanying  sketches  show  convenient  devices  for  those 
using  water  wheels.     They  will  spare  a  miller  many  steps. 

The  arrangement  shown  in  the  first  drawing  is  intended  to  be 
used  at  times  when  water  is  scarce  to  alarm  the  miller  when  it  is 
liable  to  run  over  and  waste.    A  toy  water  wheel  is  placed  beside  the 


forebay  in  the  manner  shown,  being  connected  by  a  cord  with  a  ham- 
mer arranged  on  the  ceiling  of  the  first  floor  of  the  mill  together  with 
an  alarm.  A  spout  at  the  same  level  as  the  overshot  leads  water  from 
the  fore1)ay  to  this  small  wheel.  When  the  water  in  the  dam  runs 
over,  the  small  wheel  will  be  made  to  revolve,  thus  causing  the  hammer 
to  strike  on  a  piece  of  steel  or  bell  in  the  mill. 

Drawing  No.  2  is  a  device  f9r  measuring  water.  It  is  made  as 
follows:  At  the  end  of  a  slender  rod  fasten  a  bottle  and  put  it  in  a 
tube  fastened  in  a  perpendicular  position  and  open  at  each  end  in  the 


108 


THE   BOOK   OF    WRINKLES 


forebay.  The  rod  is  extended  through  the  floor  of  the  mill.  Marks 
can  be  made  indicating  high  and  low  water,  when  there  is  power 
enough  to  use  two  runs  of  stones,  and  so  on,  as  desired.     The  bottle 


z. 


\ 


HIGH 
-LOW 


FOREBAY 


5 


in  the  forebay  wiU  rise  and  sink  with  the  rising  and  sinking  of  the 
water,  thus  making  it  a  most  reliable  indicator. 


KEEPING  ICE  FROM  WHEEL  SHAFTS 

Many  a  poor  miller  knows  what  it  is  -to  have  to  get  outside  at 
6  a.  m.,  with  the  temperature  below  zero,  and  chop  ice  before  he  can 
get  his  wheel  gates  open  or  his  wheel  to  revolve.     Such  millers  will 


appreciate  this  simple,  device  for  preventing  ice  from  forming  around 
turbine  shaft  and  gate  rods. 

Put  a  box  or  case  around  the  shaft,  slightly  larger  inside  than  the 
diameter  of  shaft  and  about  three  feet  long.    Fasten  this  box  so  as  to 


THE   BOOK   OF   WRINKLES  109 

leave  about  one  foot  of  it  above  water  and  the  balance  below.  Pour 
in  sufficient  oil  to  fill  the  box  down  below  the  freezing  point.  As 
the  oil  will  not  freeze  and  can  not  get  away  from  around  the  shaft, 
there  will  be  no  more  trouble  with  frozen  shafts. 


PROTECTING  DAMS  IN  WINTER 

The  injury  done  to  dams  by  the  expansion  of  ice  formed  on  the 
surface  of  the  pond  is  more  than  many  water  power  owners  have 
any  idea  of.  The  force  is  irresistible  and  unless  the  dam  is  protected 
by  projectmg  points  of  land  a  short  distance  above,  something  has  to 
go.  This  is  one  reason  why  so  many  dams  go  out  during  the  spring 
freshet.     The  dam  is  pushed  down  stream  a  little  by  the  expansion 


of  the  ice,  leaks  are  started  and  it  only  needs  the. additional  pressure 
of  high  water  to  destroy  the  entire  structure. 

The  remedy  is  simple  and  inexpensive.  As  soon  as  the  ice  forms, 
cut  a  channel  about  twenty  inches  wide  clear  across  the  pond  and 
about  six  feet  above  the  crest  of  the  dam.  Keep  this  channel  open  by 
cutting  it  oui  every  morning  xmtil  the  ice  is  thick  enough  to  hold  up  a 
team  of  horses,  then  cover  the  channel  with  coarse  manure  to  the 
depth  of  four  feet.  Referring  to  the  cut,  A  represents  the  dam, 
B  the  water,  C  the  ice,  D  the  open  channel  with  the  covering  of 
manure. 


DRIVING  SPIKES  UNDER  WATER 

The  sketch  shows  how  to  drive  spikes  or  nails  under  water.  A 
shows  steel  drift;  B,  gas  pipe;  C,  spike  inside  of  gas  pipe.  The  length 
of  pipe  depends  on  the  depth  of  the  water  and  should  be  of  a  diameter 
sufficient  to  allow  the  spikes  to  be  driven,  to  drop  in,  but  not  so  large 


110 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


but  that  they  will  stand  straight  in  pipe.  The  drift  should  be  long 
enough  to  drive  the  spike  down  and  leave  a  hand-hold  above  the  pipe 
sufficient  to  hammer  on. 

By  this  device  spikes  can  be  driven  in  several  feet  of  water  at  any 


A 


• 

A- 

^STE£L    DRIFT 

^1 

I^G/IS  P/P^ 

c~\ 

\^S>P\KE 

—  - 

n 

i 

W^TEft 

. — , 

-z 

_ 

>                                    PLANK     \ 

angle  desired,  as  the  spike  will  go  at  whatever  angle  the  gas  pipe  is 
held.  This  is  a  great  help  in  building  forebays,  pits  and  bottoms  for 
foundations. 


DEVICE  FOR  WORK  ON  DAMS 

The  tool  illustrated  herewith  will  come  in  handy  and  make  work 
easier  when  piling  planks  from  sluices  on  mill  dams  when  water  is 


high  or  t'Kere  are  freshets  in  the  spring.     It  consists  of  a  common 
boat-hook  with  a  chain  attached.     The  latter  should  be  as  light  as 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES  111 

possible,  but  strong  enough  to  stand  the  strain  it  will  receive,  say 
■fi^-mch.  chain.  As  indicated,  A  is  the  boat-hook,  B,  chain,  with  large 
link  stripped  over  hook.  Take  up  slack  by  ring,  F,  on  pole,  C.  The 
latter  can  be  any  length  wanted.  Bar  D  has  a  crab-claw,  E,  to  catch 
into  hnks  of  chain  and  bear  on  fulcrum  under  bar  when  using. 


CLEANING  MUD  OUT  OF  MILL  RACE 

A  good  plan  for  cleaning  out  mud  in  the  head  or  tail  race  of  a 
mill  is  to  take  two  planks  2x12  inches  and  twelve  or  sixteen  feet  long, 
and  make  a  V-frame  as  shown  in  the  cut.  Face  the  two  ends  of  the 
planks  together,  putting  in  cross  joists  of  2x4  stuff  and  nailing  the 
pointed  ends  solidly  together.  Put  this  V  in  the  race  with  the  pointed 
end  down  stream  and  have  a  man  on  each  of  the  upper  corners  and 


one  on  the  lower  point.  Then  let  a  current  of  water  through  the  race. 
The  water  will  back  up  inside  the  V  and  cut  the  mud  out  from  under 
it.  As  fast  as  the  mud  is  cleaned  out  have  the  men  move  the  V  down 
stream  to  another  point.  With  this  device  three  men  can  clean  out 
more  mud  than  twenty  can  with  shovels.  All  that  is  necessary  is  for 
them  to  tend  to  business  and  hold  the  V  down  in  the  race. 


ALARM  FOR  MILL  DAM 

How  many  times  has  the  country  miller  run  out  in  the  middle  of 
the  night,  in  the  midst  of  a  heavy  rain,  to  look  after  his  dam?  Here 
is  something  which  will  eliminate  the  worry,  let  him  sleep  better  nights, 
and  may  be  the  means  of  saving  the  dam  from  destruction  and  possibly 
the  owner  himself  from  failure.  This  alarm  hardly  needs  any  expla- 
nation, and  its  cost  is  very  small. 

Take  an  old  spout  measuring  4x4  inches  inside  and  cut  off  a  six- 


112 


THE   BOOK   OF   WRINKLES 


teen-inch  length.  One  inch  from  the  top  bore  four  small  holes  a  trifle 
larger  than  the  insulated  wire  to  be  used.  The  insulation  is  scraped 
off  the  wire  at  the  point  where  it  would  cross,  as  indicated  in  the 
sketch,  and  the  wire  put  in,  drawn  tight  and  wedged  in  at  the  holes. 

Then  the  lower  wire  is  put  in  a  little  slack,  and  below  the  first 
wire,  being  fixed  so  as  to  push  downward,  away  from  the  upper  wire. 
Next  take  two  pieces  of  sheet  tin  as  long  as  the  spout  and  two  inches 


^ 


BOTTLE 


QUIDS 
PIN 


i£ 


nnr— 

1 

1 

Bill 


3 


^    U 


SLOT 


y 


wide  and  place  them  at  two  opposite  corners  of  the  spout  as  shown, 
fastening  each  end,  so  as  to  make  a  smooth  surface  for  the  guide  on 
the  bottle  to  travel  in. 

The  guide  itself  is  made  by  running  a  stout  wire  through  the  cork 
and  curving  each  end,  allowing  about  one-quarter  of  an  inch  play  at 
each  end  so  that  it  will  have  free  travel.  To  the  bottom  of  the  spout 
nail  a  wire  screen,  to  keep  trash  away  from  it. 

To  hold  the  spout  and  bottle  a  2x4  is  used,  being  slotted  to  receive 
the  bolt  from  the  spout  as  indicated.  In  this  manner  the  spout  can  l^e 
adjusted  on  the  2x4  so  that  the  bell  will  ring  when  the  water  reaches 
the  height  for  which  the  alarm  is  set.  The  2x4  holding  the  alarm  is 
driven  into  the  water  at  the  most  convenient  point  near  the  house.  A 
cover  which  can  be  removed  is  also  made  for  the  spout  to  prevent  any 
damage  from  above. 

Then  when  the  water  rises  the  bottle  rises  along  with  it  and  pushes 
the  lower  wire  against  the  upper  one,  making  a  contact  and  ringing 
the  bell.     It  is  a  good  plan  to  test  the  apparatus  every  evening. 


THE   BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


113 


SECURING  DAM  TIMBERS 

The  annexed  drawing,  which  needs  no  explanation,  shows  how 
dam  and  other  timbers  can  be  easily  and  cheaply  fastened  to  bed  rock 


]ll||l  TfMREfi 


y//;^////^/M//M 


of  streams.    Timbers  fastened  in  this  way  have  great  staying  qualities. 
Any  blacksmith  can  furnish  the  fastenings. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

MILL  TOOLS  AND  APPLIANCES 


TOOL  FOR  SPROCKET  WHEELS 

The  sketch  shows  a  handy  tool  which  is  for  use  on  sprocket  or 
chain  wheels  when  turning  bolts  in  order  to  examine  cloths,  or  in 


putting  on  cloths,  or  for  similar  purposes.  The  tool  is  simply  a  lever 
3  or  4  feet  long,  with  a  wire  link  as  shown.  The  link  is  of  suitable 
length,  according  to  size  of  sprocket  wheel.  It  saves  lots  of  muscle 
and  keeps  the  hands  or  gloves  from  getting  daubed  with  grease  and  oil. 


SUBSTITUTE  FOR  PIPE  WRENCH 

The  device  shown  in  the  accompanying  sketch  is  a  good  substitute 


for  a  pipe  wrench.     Take  three  or  four  feet  of  new  rope.     Fray  out 
both  ends  thin  and  put  them  together.     Commence  with  tip  ends  and 


The  book  of  wrinkles 


115 


wrap  tightly  around  the  pipe  until  you  have  a  loop  for  a  piece  of  pipe 
or  round  bar  for  a  lever. 


USEFUL  HOME-MADE  FLOUR  SLICK 

The  accompanying  sketch  shows  a  flour  slick  that  is  more  con- 
venient to  use  and  to  carry  in  one's  pocket  than  a  straight  one,  as  it 
will  not  fall  out  of  the  pocket,  the  common  failing  of  all  flour  triers. 


Take  any  ordinary  piece  of  sheet  steel  and  fashion  it  into  the  size  and 
shape  you  want  your  slick  to  be.  The  dimensions  of  one  are  given  in 
the  sketch.  Then  polish  with  very  fine  emery  cloth  secured  to  a 
rapidly  revolving  shaft,  if  you  have  nothing  better  at  hand  for  the 
purpose.  Then  put  the  slick  into  a  vise  and  bend"  it  as  the  sketch 
indicates. 


116 


THE   BOOK   OF    WRINKLES 


AN  ALL-AROUND  TOOL 

The  accompanying  cut  shows  a  handy  Httle  tool  that  can  be  used 
to  considerable  advantage,  and  is  convenient  for  carrying  in  the  pocket. 
To  make  it,  get  a  piece  of  flat  steel  (a  piece  of  heavy  saw  blade  will  do 


if  you  can  get  nothing  better),  draw  a  diagram  on  the  steel  and  jut 
in  a  vise,  leaving  the  lines  just  below  the  edge  of  the  vice  jaws.  You 
can  then  cut  it  with  a  chisel  to  nearly  the  required  shape,  and  can  finish 
on  a  grindstone.  Polish  the  sides  on  the  stone  and  finish  the  polishing 
on  the  face  of  a  very  swift  running  pulley.  Moisten  the  steel  while 
polishing.  You  will  then  have  a  flour  trier  with  string  cutter  and 
screw  driver  combined. 

The  tool  should  be  about  1%  inches  wide  by  about  3  inches  to  the 
point  where  it  begins  to  narrow.  The  total  length  should  be  about 
5  inches.  Sharpen  the  part  marked  a.  The  hollow  will  prevent  the 
sharp  edge  from  doing  you  damage  when  not  in  use ;  b  can  be  used 
for  a  screw  driver,  and  if  you  get  strong  metal  and  leave  it  as  strong 
as  possible  and  still  have  it  small  enough  to  reach  a  screw  head,  you 
can  draw  almost  any  screw. 


BOLTING  CLOTH  PINCHERS 

The  accompanying  drawing  shows  a  pair  of  pinchers  for  stretch- 
ing bolting  cloth  for  reels.  Have  these  made  at  a  blacksmith  shop 
from  tool  steel.     The  jaw,  a,  is  straight,  and  should  be  about  two 


inches  long,  while  the  other  jaw  should  be  curved  the  same  as  in 
ordinary  pinchers.  .  This,  jaw,  having  about  four  teeth  and  coming  up 
tight  against  jaw  a,  holds  the  cloth  from  slipping.  The  ends  of  handles 
serve  as  a  tack-puller  and  screw  driver. 


THE    I500K    OF    WRINKLES 


117 


COMBINATION  TOOL  FOR  MILLERS 

The  illustration  shows  a  pair  of  ordinary  pliers  so  worked  over  as 
to  meet  the  needs  of  the  miller.    One  end  is  made  into  a  belt  hook  for 


pulling  lacing,  the  other  end  being  used  as  a  scratch  awl  and  for 
enlarging  lace  holes  in  belting.  The  nose  is  ground  down  for  the  pur- 
pose of  pulling  and  stretching  bolting  silk  while  tacking.  The  engineer, 
teamster  and  all  the  other  employes  will  find  it  very  handy  for  odd  jobs. 
A  trial  of  one  like  it  will  soon  convince  anvone  of  its  usefulness. 


PORTABLE  TOOL  BOX 

The  sketch  shows  a  section  of   a  handy  tool  box   in  which   are 
placed  those  tools  that  a  miller  uses  most  frequently.     The  advantage 


of  this  box  is  that  a  man  always  knows  where  the  tools  are  and  can 
carry  them  to  any  place  where  he  may  desire  to  use  them.  For  instance, 
have  a  claw  hammer,  tack  hammer,  belt  punches,  spring  punches,  prick 


lis  tHE   iBOOK   OF   WRINKLES 

punches,  a  bunch  of  cut  lace  leather,  a  couple  of  rounds  of  wire  lacing, 
with  the  accompanying  tools,  combination  pliers  and  wire  cutter,  screw 
driver  and  a  couple  of  small  wrenches.  This  makes  a  very  handy 
outfit,  but  the  miller  can  put  in  such  tools  as  his  requirements  demand. 
A  box  from  two  and  one-half  to  three  feet  long  by  eight  inches  wide 
at  the  top,  is  sufficiently  large  for  the  purpose. 


BROOM  WRINKLE 

This  is  one  of  those  little  ideas  which  are  so  small  in  themselves, 
but  which  often  prove  such  a  satisfaction  and  help.  When  you  are 
cleaning  the  ceilings  of  your  mill  just  take  an  ordinary  cotton  flour  bag. 
slip  it  over  the  broom  and  tie  about  the  handle.     It  will  be  a  big  help. 


CE/UNG  BROOM 


mSjf  -COTTON  FLOUR  BAQ ' 


will  remove  cobwebs  and  flour  dust  better  from  the  ceilings  and  walls, 
and  will  prevent  the  broom  from  "shedding"  straw  around  the  place. 


TWO  GOOD  SCRAPERS 

A  very  valuable  and  inexpensive  tool   can  be  made  as   follows: 
Get  two  smooth  mowing  machine  sicjcle  blades  and  have  the  blacksmith 


(9> 


bore  a  hole  through  the  center  of  each.  Thread  them,  make  two 
handles  about  ten  inches  long,  and  screw  them  into  the  blades  and 
fasten  tight  with  a  jamb  nut.  One  of  them  can  be  used  for  cleaning 
up  all  grease,  oil  and  dust  that  accumulates  on  the  floor  or  on  machines. 
It  is  a  very  handy  tool  for  that  purpose,  as  it  has  several  different 
angles.  The  other  one  should  kept  kept  sharp  and  used  for  finishing  the 
surface  of  an  endless  splice  on  a  leather  belt. 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


119 


WHEAT  SCREEN  CLEANER 

This  little  utensil  is  a  wheat  screen  cleaner.     It  is  made  of  wire 
about  one-eighth  of  an  inch  in  diameter  and  if  necessary  can  be  sold- 


ered at  the  handle  to  make  it  rigid.  The  exact  size  depends  on  indi- 
vidual preference,  but  the  proportions  should  be  about  as  shown  in  the 
sketch. 


TO  START  STUBBORN  HAND  WHEEL 

Here  is  one  of  those  little  devices  which  is  so  simple  as  to  seem 
hardly  worth  notice,  but  it  is  one  of  those  things  which  help  one  out 


HANO    V^HEEIL 


of  many  a  little  snarl.  It  is  simply  a  lever,  for  starting  a  hand  wheel 
that  sticks.  It  is  made  from  an  old  G.  T.  Smith  Purifier  spring  and 
can  be  used  both  ways  on  the  wheel. 


COMBINATION  BEVEL  AND  PITCH-FINDER 

The  sketch  shows  a  neat  and  handy  combination  tool.  It  may  be 
made  entire  or  can  be  attached  to  an  ordinary  bevel.  It  is  useful 
to  millers  and  draftsmen  and  is  indispens^ible  to  millwrights.  Any 
mechanic  can  make  one  and  can  see  at  a  glance  how  it  is  made,  as 
well  as  its  advantages. 

In  marking  off  a  spout,  it  shows  at  a  glance  what  pitch  the  spout 
will  have  when  up.  The  stock  is  neatly  mortised  to  allow  the  wood 
tongue  to  slide  either  way  and  always  remain  square,  and  is  fitted 


120 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


with  a  thumb-screw  to  firmly  hold  the  wood  tongue  at  any  fixed  point. 
The  wood  tongue  is  gauged  to  show  exact  pitch  of  iron  tongue  when 
set  at  any  desired  angle.     In  the  wood  tongue  are  four  points  for 


MOHTICt 


gauging  the  mortise  timber,  as  shown  in  the  drawing.  These  are  small 
screws  and  can  be  at  any  space  desired.  The  stock  acts  as  a  fence 
while  gauging. 


SACK  TWINE  CUTTER 

The   accompanying   sketch    shows   a    sack   twine   cutter.      In   the 
sketch  d  is  a  spout ;  a,  twine  rack  with  more  or  less  saw  cuts,  h,  and 


twine  cutter,  c.     A  sharp-toothed  section  of  a  mower  blade  makes  a 
good  twine  cutter. 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


121 


SCREW  DRIVER 

The  drawing  submitted  herewith  shows  a  handy  pocket  screw 
driver  and  wrench.  It  is  4  inches  long,  by  one-half  inch  thick.  The 
main  bit  tapers  out  to  a  small  point  and  is  used  on  screws  from  No.  10 
down  to  very  small  ones.  It  is  particularly  handy  on  screws  such  as 
are  used  in  the  hinges  of  feeder  doors.  The  auxiliary  bit  is  large  at 
the  point  and  is  very  handy  in  setting  slotted  set  screws  in  set  collars, 


U 


where  more  force  is  required  than  can  be  attained  with  an  ordinary 
driver.  In  small  spaces,  where  an  ordinary  driver  is  too  long,  it  is 
just  the  article  needed,  and  saves  many  trips  to  the  bench.  The 
wrench  end  is  used  on  the  small  set  screws  found  on  the  feeders,  and 
is  much  handier  than  a  large,  clumsy  wrench.  It  may  be  used  in  open- 
ing feeder  latches  and  doors,  which  have  become  doughed  fast,  and 
saves  a  hunt  for  a  scraper  when  a  ring  forms  on  a  pair  of  rolls. 


USEFUL  WRENCH 

Everybody,  millers  included,  needs  a  wrench  more  or  less.     The 
drawing  shows  a  wrench  that  is  said  to  be  one  of >  the  handiest  ever 


used.  It  is  made  of  ^^xj^-inch  steel  and  is  six  inches  long.  The  ends 
may  be  made  any  desired  size.  In  the  one  shown  they  were  for  3;\-inch 
and  ^^4-iiich  taps. 


122 


THE    ROOK    OF    WRINKLES 


MILL  BRUSH 

The  device  illustrated  is  a  brush  for  sweeping  overhead  parts  of 
the  mill.     It  is  made  from  one-half  of  a  floor  brush,  fastened  to  a 


handle  by  nailing  tin  over  the  top  of  the  brush  and  allowing  the  tin 
to  extend  far  enough  to  bend  around  and  nail  to  handle.  The  handle 
should  be  about  9  feet  long.  ^ 


EXTENSION  BROOM  ^ 

Many  mills,  particularly  those  with  high  ceilings,  get  pretty  well 
festooned  with  cobwebs  and  dust,  which  surely  do  not  add  to  the 
appearance  of  any  plant.  Take  a  piece  of  M-inch  gas  pipe  twelve 
inches  long  and  fasten  one  end  solidly  about  half-way  on  an  old  broom 

^  GAS  /=>/^S  /e  "/.  OA/G 


handle.  Then  take  any  old  broom  and  slip  it  into  the  other  end  of  the 
pipe  and  it  will  reach  to  the  ceiling  of  almost  any  mill.  When  the 
broom  is  worn  out  simply  substitute  another  broom  and  go  after  the 
cobwebs  again. 


THE   BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


123 


"GRAB-HOOKS"  FOR  DOUGH  BALLS 

Here  is  a  pair  of  "grab-hooks"  that  will  take  dough  balls  out  from 
the  rolls.  Take  a  piece  of  hoop  iron,  about  twelve  inches  long  and  one 
inch  wide,  sharpen  and  shape  the  ends  so  that  A   and  B  will  come 


against  the  rolls  before  C  reaches  the  point  where  it  will  be  caught, 
as  shown  in  Figure  1.  This  done  bend  the  ends  as  shown  in  Figure  2 
with  the  points  .turned  in  so  that  they  can  catch  and  lift  out  the  dough 
balls. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

MISCELLANEOUS 


OIL  CAN  WRINKLE 

Here  is  a  little  trick  that  many  may  find  new  and  useful.    File  the 
end  of  the  oil  can  spout  off  slanting  as  shown  in  sketch  so  that  you 


can  slip  it  under  the  lids  of  the  journals  without  touching  them  with 
the  hands.    The  advantage  is  obvious. 


FEED  SAVER 

In  nearly  every  mill  and  elevator  some  of  the  cleaners  exhaust 
out  of  doors,  and  while  the  cleaners  are  built  to  separate  the  heaviest 


<^ — :=! 


P 


7 


This 


particles  of  cleanings  from  the  wind,  some  of  it  is  blown  away, 
is  a  loss  which  can  to  a  certain  extent  be  avoided. 

To  do  this  procure  one  inch  boards  one  foot  wide  and  saw  two 
or  more  to  a  length  equal  to  the  width  of  the  wind  spout.  Saw  an 
opening  in  the  bottom  of  the  wind  spout  about  six  inches  wide  and 
clear  across  the  spout.  Nail  one  of  the  boards  in  the  opening,  extend- 
ing it  one  inch  up  into  the  spout,  the  balance  of  it  extending  down  from 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES  125 

the  spout  at  a  right  angle.  Nail  another  piece  of  the  board,  already 
prepared,  to  the  spout  at  the  other  side  of  the  opening  and  allow  it  to 
come  within  one-half  inch  of  the  first  board.  Then  box  up  the  ends 
of  the  boards  which  you  nailed  to  the  spout  and  you  have  a  settling 
chamber  similar  to  the  ones  built  in  cleaners.  The  board  which  you 
nailed  at  a  right  angle  to  the  spout  and  allowed  to  extend  in  the  spout 
about  an  inch  should  be  toward  the  outer  end  of  the  spout.  The 
heavier  part  of  the  cleanings  will  be  nearest  the  bottom  of  the  spout, 
and  the  projection  will  catch  them  and  they  will  drop  into  the  impro- 
vised settling  chamber.  If  one  of  these  will  not  catch  all  of  the  chaff 
and  cleanings  suitable  for  feed,  several  can  be  placed  on  the  spout. 
The  first  one  will  catch  the  best  part  of  the  cleanings  and  the  others 
will  catch  that  which  is  left.  The  drawing  is  intended  to  show  a  side 
view  of  the  spout  with  the  feed  catchers  in  place. 


USEFUL  MILL  PAIL 

The  accompanying  sketch  might  be  taken  for  a  fire  pail,  but  it  is 
used  for  an  entirely  different  purpose.  Get  into  the  habit  of  removing 
all  soft,  sticky  material  that  constantly  accumulates  on  the  sides  of  the 
frames  where  it  has  a  chance  to  lodge,  and  from  the  brushes  of  the 


roller  mills.  Besides  the  pail,  have  a  piece  of  galvanized  sheet  metal, 
1/^x3  inches,  with  which  to  scrape  off  the  oily  material  which  accumu- 
lates directly  beneath  where  the  roll  journal  passes  through  the  frames. 
This  is  not  placed  with  the  good  stock,  but  is  placed  in  a  separate 


126 


THE    BOOK    OP^    WRINKLES 


receptacle  and  later  burned  in  the  furnace,  while  the  good  material  is 
thrown  into  the  feed. 

The  pail  is  hooked  onto  the  frame  at  the  door  opening  while  the 
material  is  being  removed  and  the  job  is  thus  very  easily  and  neatly 
done.    Clean  out  every  day  because  it  will  prove  profitable. 


DISPOSING  OF  SWEEPINGS 

A  useful  wrinkle  is  the  use  of  an  old  elevator  to  send  sweepings 
to  the  feed  bin  or  to  a  sack.     There  should  be  no  elevator  buckets  or 


FLOOR 


FLOOR 

1 


uo 


LID 


LID 


belt  in  it.     The  accompanying  drawing  is  self-explanatory.     Where 
there  is  an  elevator  running  it  can  be  spouted. 


THE   BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


127 


AUTOMATIC  MEAL  MIXER 

If  you  are  troubled  by  the  fact  that  your  unbolted  meal,  when 
spouted  into  the  bin  in  a  steady  stream,  separates  and  requires  mixing 
to   keep   it   even   quality   and    weight,   correct   this    difficulty   by   the 


A 


'  V 


V 


''wrinkle''  here  sketched.  The  contrivance  is  easily  made,  and  costs 
but  a  trifle.  The  weight  arm  has  a  sweep  of  the  distance  between 
points  marked  O.  Make  scoop  about  6  inches  wide  and  9  inches  long 
by  6  inches  deep.  Hang  so  that  stream  strikes  at  center  of  top  of 
scoop.  Place  bar  across  frame  at  points  0  to  support  and  retard 
weight  arm.  Adjust  weight  so  as  to  properly  return  scoop  when  empty 
and  hold  same  in  position  until  full. 


HOE  FOR  MEAL 

A  handy  tool  for  millers'  use  can  be  made  by  taking  a  piece  of 


poplar  4  to  6  feet  long,  Jix2^  inches  at  one  end  and  tapering  to  2 
inches  at  other  end.    This  can  be  fastened  to  an  old  scoop  from  which 


128 


THE   BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


the  handle  has  been  broken  out,  with  two  old  roll  scraper  irons,  as 
shown  in  the  sketch.  This  makes  a  very  convenient  device  for  stirring 
])ack  meal,  wheat,  etc.,  in  open  bins. 


SMALL  MEASURE  FOR  GRAIN 

Nearly  all  millers  in  towns  or  villages  have  customers  who  buy 
from  10  to  50  cents'  worth  of  wheat  and  other  grain  for  feed.  By 
having  a  measure  likei  the  one  shown,  a  great  deal  of  time  can  be 
saved  as  compared  with  weighing  it  out  on  scales.  A  measure  like  this 
costs  but  very  little  and  any  tinsmith  can  make  it.  G  is  the  measure; 
^  is  a  round  cylinder  open  at  both  ends;  B  is  another  cylinder  open 
at  the  top,  and  with  a  bottom  to  it.    A  fits  into  B,  like  a  telescope.  E 


is  a  screw  fastener  to  hold  the  measure  at  the  desired  place  when 
opening  or  closing.  D  is  a  scale  of  figures  by  which  the  measure  can 
be  set  as  the  price  of  grain  varies. 


SIEVE  FOR  CHOKES 

The  drawing  represents   a  ''wrinkle"  that  consists  of  a  common 
two-bushel  sack  and  a  round  hand-sieve  made  to  fit  therein,  which 


THE   BOOK   OF   WRINKLES  ,  129 

will  enable  the  sifter  who  sieves  a  sieve  full  of  chokes  to  do  so  without 
dust  and  the  unpleasantness  of.  standing  in  a  pile  of  flour  while  the 
work  is  going  on.    It  also  saves  scooping  the  flour  up  the  second  time. 


When  the  work  is  finished  the  siftings  will  be  in  the  sack  and  the  trash 
in  a  pile  by  itself. 


SCALPER  FOR  CORN  MEAL 

The  drawing  represents  a  kind  of  a  double  spout  about  7  feet  long 
and  9  inches  wide.  The  bottom  of  the  upper  section  is  made  of  per- 
forated zinc  such  as  is  used  for  wheat  screens.  At  the  top  a  piece  of 
tin  8  to  10  inches  long  is  placed  in  order  to  start  the  stock  down  the 
incline  before  any  can  drop  through.  One-third  of  the  way  down  the 
perforations  are  /^  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  on  the  next  third  they 
are  /^  of  an  inch  in  diameter,  while  on  the  lower  third  they  are  J/i  of 
an  inch  in  diameter. 

The  bottom  of  the  lower  section  is  made  of  sheet  iron.  The  lower 
section  collects  all  that  drops  through  the  perforated  section  and  carries 


130 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


it  to  lower  end,  whence  it  may  be  spouted  as  desired.    This  little  sepa- 
rator is  suspended  by  cords  at  top  and  bottom,  and  the  bottom  is  so 


arranged  that  it  may  be  raised  or  lowered  to  either  accelerate  or  retard 
the  flow  of  the  stock,  as  desired. 


SCOOP  FOR  MILL  USE 

Secure  two  boards  8  or  10  inches  wide,  cut  in  the  shape  shown, 
for  sides;  a  round  piece  across  top  for  a  handle,  and  a  2-inch  piece 


HANDLE 


HANDLE 


for  the  end  of  scoop,  in  which  the  end  handle  can  be  fastened.  The 
bottom  can  then  be  covered  with  common  sheet  iron  or  galvanized  iron. 
The  latter  will  give  much  better  service. 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


131 


GLOBE  FOR  FIRST  BREAK 

An  inexpensive  and  very  useful  appliance  is  shown  in  the  sketch. 
It  is  an  ordinary  lantern  globe  placed  on  top  of  first  break  roll  or  wheat 


steamer.  The  wheat  from  the  garner  passes  through  this  globe.  The 
miller,  by  glancing  at  the  wheat  passing  through  the  lantern  globe,  can 
tell  whether  or  not  the  first  break  feeder  is  working  properly.  He  can 
also  tell  if  the  garner  has  run  empty. 


HOME-MADE  SIEVE 

A  very  useful  and  convenient  article  is  shown  herewith — a  home- 
made sieve,  20x40  inches  and  8  inches  deep.  This  sieve  has  a  canted 
bottom  pitching  toward  the  center,  with  a  sleeve  attached.     It  can  be 


132 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


made  with  an  interchangeable  sieve  and  can,  therefore,  be  used  to  sift 
anything  that  comes  along.    It  is  suspended  by  four  y^-'mch  ropes,  and 


when  not  in  use  it  can  be  hooked  up  to  a  nail  or  to  a  hook  put  up 
especially  for  that  purpose,  and  it  need  not  be  loosened  from  the  ropes. 


PRICE  INDICATOR  AND  COMPUTER 

The  illustrations  show  a  computing  device  which  is  very  simple  in 
construction,  is  durable,  saves  time  and  avoids  mistakes.  The  finger 
indicators  can  be  set  to  indicate  the  price  per  100  pounds,  and  by 
turning  the  cylinder  by  means  of  the  thumb  nuts,  the  price  for  any 
number  of  pounds  from  5  to  100  is  readily  indicated. 

Figure  2  is  a  diagram  of  the  cylinder,  but  it  only  shows  a  few  of 
the  96  lateral  rows  of  figures  which  encircle  the  cylinder.  The  figures 
from  5  to  100  extending  around  the  left  end  of  the  cylinder  represent 
pounds ;  all  the  other  figures  are  cents. 

In  Fig.  1  the  paddles  are  set  to  show  the  price  of  bran  as  85  cents 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


133 


per  hundred;  middlings,  95  cents;  meal,  $1.50.  The  possible  range  of 
price  per  100  pounds  is  50  cents  to  $1.50.  If  the  bran  paddle  is  set  at 
90  cents  per  100  pounds  and  a  customer's  purchase  weighs  96  pounds, 
turn  the  cylinder  around  until  96  in  the  pound  column  reaches  the 
indicating  line.*    Then  the  figures  above  the  bran  paddle  show  that  87 


® 


<* 


cents  is  the  price.  If  a  customer  asks  for  $1.45  worth  of  meal,  turn 
the  cylinder  until  145  cents  stands  above  the  meal  paddle,  then  by 
looking  in  the  pound  column  you  find  that  you  must  give  the  man  97 


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pounds  of  meal.  In  other  words,  the  figures  on  the  cylinder  will  give 
you  the  price  for  a  given  number  of  pounds  of  stock,  or  the  number  of 
pounds  for  a  given  price. 


TAKING  UP  SLACK  IN  SPROCKET  CHAINS 

The  illustration  shows  a  device  for  taking  up  the  slack  in  sprocket 
chains.     To  make  this,  take  a  piece  of  square  steel  about  2  feet  long 


134 


THE    BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


and  have  a  blacksmith  bend  it  in  the  shape  of  a  magnet.     When  a 
sprocket  chain  becomes  loose  and  it  is  desired  to  tighten  it,  place  the 


steel  in  a  vise,  place  the  loose  links  on  the  ends  and  screw  up  the  vise 
until  all  the  play  is  taken  up. 


ADVANTAGES  OF  SYSTEMATIC  PILING 

Most  millers  pile  their  flour  in  one  solid  mass,  thereby  making  a 
grand  place  for  mice  to  nest  and  preventing  a  circulation  of  air  through 


( — ^  c     I  ( — ^ 

II II    .,„A 


s  r^~~\7 \ 


the  sacked  flour,  which  is  very  necessary  to  insure  its  good  condition. 
A  few  millers  pile  their  flour  in  tiers,  but  pile  too  closely  and  soil  a 


THE   BOOK    OF    WRINKLES 


135 


large  number  of  sacks  by  starting  wrong  in  laying  the  first  sacks  flat 
on  the  floor. 

Pile  your  flour  as  shown  in  the  sketches  given  herewith.  The 
amount  of  room  lost  in  this  way  of  piling  is  more  than  made  up  by 
the  saving  in  flour  and  sacks,  and  the  good  condition  of  the  flour.  Tiers 
should  be  six  inches  apart  and  sacks  piled  directly  one  on  top  of  the 
other  and  not  against  each  other,  but  only  just  touching,  so  that  the 
weight  will  be  straight  to  the  floor.  Flour  may  be  piled  ten  to  twelve 
sacks  high  with  perfect  safety  as  to  toppling  over,  and  when  once  accus- 
tomed to  this  way  of  piling  the  packer  can  turn  out  one  sack  per  minute 
with  ease  or  as  much  as  he  can  with  careless  piling. 


WETTING  WHEAT  WITHOUT  RESERVOIR 

The  arrahgement  for  wetting  wheat  shown  herewith  entirely  does 


/,/ve:    3T£^/^^y 


HEf^rrff   OR  sr/r/?A»£/? 


DF{f\iH  pipb:" 


J  \r^HeA  T     TO 


VALVC 


WATEfi     TO     CONVeVOR 


We-rT//VC       CONVEYOR 


OS    TFMPef^INO      BIN 


away  with  the  reservoir  or  tank.  It  hardly  needs  explanation.  A 
T-connection  is  inserted  in  the  drain  pipe  from  the  heater  or  steamer, 
with  a  valve  below  it  for  regulating  the  flow.  The  large  elbow  below 
the  valve  catches  the  water  and  passes  it  on  to  the  wetting  conveyor. 


136 


THE    BOOK   OF    WRINKLES 


DAMPER  REGULATOR 

Take  an  old  sprocket  wheel,  which  nearly  all  mills  have,  saw  off 
the  cross-arm  of  the  damper  on  the  smokestack  and  slip  the  wheel  on,. 


tighten  it  on  with  the  set-screw  and  then  put  on  the  chain.    This  gives 
complete  control  of  the  valve. 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


AN  INITIAL  FINE  OF  25  CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  50  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY  AND  TO  $1.00  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
OVERDUE. 


LIBRARY,  COLLEGE  OF  AGRICULTURE,  DAVIS 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Book  Slip-10m-8,'49(B5851s4) 458 


66697 


T'.e  Americar 


ThR   hook   c 


rriller 


f   w-rinklRS. 


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j:jk).UQ- 


^ 


1912 


^x^ 


66S97 


